Ramaphosa Mandates BRICS Gains Must Deliver Real Economic Results for South Africa

President Cyril Ramaphosa has set out a formal agenda to convert South Africa’s BRICS membership into measurable economic outcomes, framing the expanded bloc as a central pillar of the country’s development strategy and its push for a more equitable global order. The President made his position clear in his weekly newsletter following the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, India.

The governance stakes are substantial. BRICS now encompasses roughly half the world’s population and approximately a quarter of global trade, following its 2023 expansion to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates alongside the original members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. For Pretoria, the bloc is not merely a diplomatic forum. It is a financing and policy architecture with direct consequences for public investment.

More than one-fifth of South Africa’s trade flows through BRICS member nations. The New Development Bank, commonly known as the BRICS Bank, has underwritten major capital projects in energy, water and transport infrastructure. South Africa also holds access to a 100 billion dollar pool of currency reserves through the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement, a liquidity backstop available in the event of a financial emergency. These are not aspirational commitments. They are active instruments of state financial management.

Ramaphosa acknowledged that BRICS Summits can appear remote from the daily concerns of ordinary South Africans. His newsletter made the case that the institutional architecture of the bloc delivers concrete returns, from development financing to cooperation frameworks in science, technology, research, education and skills development. South Africa also participates in the BRICS Youth Council, BRICS Think Tanks Council and BRICS Network University.

Meanwhile, the bilateral dimension of the New Delhi visit carried its own policy weight. India is South Africa’s fourth-largest trading partner. More than 150 Indian companies have invested over 10 billion dollars in South Africa, supporting employment for more than 18,000 South Africans. South African firms, including Naspers, FirstRand Bank, Sanlam and Momentum, maintain significant operations in India. The South Africa-India CEOs’ Roundtable, convened during the summit, brought senior business leaders from both countries together to examine expanded investment and partnership opportunities.

Indian company representatives used the occasion to commend South Africa’s structural reform program, specifically citing progress in energy, logistics, telecommunications, water, visa administration and public digital infrastructure. South Africa, for its part, presented investment opportunities in green industrialisation, critical minerals and beneficiation, infrastructure, agriculture and the digital economy.

Ramaphosa identified specific areas where complementary capabilities could generate mutual policy value. India’s pharmaceutical and health technology expertise aligns with South Africa’s stated goal of expanding domestic medicine and vaccine production. Indian strengths in information technology, financial technology and digital public infrastructure could assist in modernizing South African systems. South Africa’s critical mineral resources, in turn, could supply India’s growing renewable energy, battery and automotive value chains, while creating conditions for increased local mineral processing at home.

The President flagged concrete steps required to realize these ambitions, including restoring direct flights between the two countries and building closer ties between business chambers on both sides. Whether those steps translate into binding agreements or remain aspirational will be the measure of this diplomatic engagement.