Ramaphosa Calls for Greater Investment and Trade Cooperation within BRICS

Cape Town, The Gulf Observer: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on BRICS governments and business communities to use the grouping as a platform to deepen investment and trade, reshape existing economic patterns and promote greater economic transformation across the Global South.

Addressing the BRICS Business Forum in New Delhi on Friday, President Ramaphosa said the ambition of governments and businesses should go beyond expanding intra-BRICS trade and focus on building deeper productive relationships among member economies.

He stressed the need for greater investment in manufacturing and beneficiation in resource-rich developing countries, particularly in Africa.

“We cannot accept a future where Africa supplies the minerals on which the next generation of industries depends, while value addition and manufacturing take place elsewhere,” he said.

Ramaphosa called for investment to be directed toward manufacturing, mineral beneficiation, industrial technologies, energy systems, infrastructure and logistics to ensure that developing economies capture a greater share of value creation.

The BRICS Business Forum brought together business leaders, ministers and heads of state to discuss trade, investment, finance, technology and development challenges shaping the grouping’s economic agenda.

The forum also provides a platform for presenting and discussing key proposals from the BRICS Business Council and plays an important role in shaping the organization’s economic priorities. Its conclusions and recommendations are regularly reflected in BRICS Summit declarations and follow-up work plans, particularly in areas including intra-BRICS trade, investment, the digital economy, micro, small and medium enterprises, standards cooperation and value-chain integration.

President Ramaphosa urged companies to invest not only to gain access to markets but also to establish production facilities and develop local capabilities.

“The question is no longer whether there is potential within BRICS, but whether we have the ambition, the instruments and the partnerships to convert this potential into economic value for our people,” he said.

He emphasized that the BRICS Business Council should serve not merely as a forum for consultation but as a mechanism for developing commercial relationships and productive partnerships among member states.

Ramaphosa said BRICS was at an important turning point as the global economy undergoes major changes driven by shifting trade patterns, rapid technological advances and growing climate pressures.

He said these developments presented an opportunity to build a more resilient, diversified and inclusive economic future for the Global South, noting that developing economies had historically remained concentrated in the supply of raw commodities while higher-value manufacturing, technology and value creation were located elsewhere.

“We should not reproduce that pattern within the expanded BRICS,” he said.

The South African President further stressed that strengthening economic cooperation could not be the responsibility of governments alone. He called for a partnership in which governments create enabling conditions for trade and investment while businesses pursue opportunities for production and commerce.

“Resilience is not simply the capacity to withstand disruption. It is the capacity to transform disruption into new capabilities and partnerships,” Ramaphosa said.

President Ramaphosa arrived in New Delhi on Friday, September 11, to participate in the 18th BRICS Summit.

The summit, scheduled for September 12–13 under India’s chairship, is being held as BRICS seeks to deepen cooperation among its expanded membership and advance economic and development priorities of the Global South.