BRICS membership yields benefits for S. Africa: Gov't

JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- BRICS membership has yielded benefits for the country and is expected to do so for the rest of the continent, said the South Africa government in its 2020/21 yearbook released on Wednesday.

It said the country continues to use its BRICS membership for skills and technology transfers, capacity building, investment attracting, as well as addressing unemployment, poverty, and inequality.

"South Africa derives crucial benefits through Track II institutions, such as the BRICS Business Council and the BRICS Think-Tank Council, as well as the creation of the BRICS Inter-Bank Cooperation Mechanism," it said.

"Furthermore, the establishment of the BRICS Science, Technology and Innovation Funding Mechanism and Framework Programme, is an example of the vital support for capacity building, as well as skills and technology transfer. BRICS cooperation in the fields of digitalization, industrialization, and innovation was further enhanced through the establishment of the BRICS New Partnership for Industrial Revolution," it said.

Efforts continue within BRICS on common objectives, including addressing challenges in respective regions and the world at large. BRICS also continues to provide alternative market access as well as strategic political support in pursuit of a just and equitable world.

The yearbook said South Africa's economy contracted by an estimated 7.2 percent in 2020, however, the situation has improved because of the easing of the lockdown and "faster than the expected resumption of global growth, especially in China".