South Africa aims to use BRICS platform to boost trade: official

JOHANNESBURG, July 22 (Xinhua) -- South Africa will attend the 14th BRICS Trade Ministers Meeting later this week in Moscow, Russia, to seek trade and investment opportunities, a government official said on Monday.

"South Africa will continue to identify opportunities for cooperation with BRICS partners, both bilaterally and through the BRICS platform, that would present opportunities for the continent to transition away from its historic role as a commodity exporter toward higher productivity value addition," said Zuko Godlimpi, South African deputy minister of trade, industry and competition, before departing for the meeting.

He said the BRICS Trade Ministers Meeting will be preceded by a roundtable discussion under the theme "The Place of BRICS in the New Architecture of the International Economic System."

The meeting will give South Africa an opportunity to build mutually beneficial trade and investment relations that promote value-added trade and economic transformation, said Goldimpi, noting that his country wants to facilitate foreign direct investment into the productive sectors with BRICS partners and coordinate positions on global governance.

The BRICS is the acronym for an emerging-market cooperative mechanism that initially included Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. In January, the bloc expanded its membership to include Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, and Ethiopia.