BRICS-AFRICA OUTREACH AND BRICS PLUS DIALOGUE
Ladies and gentlemen,
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to His Excellency Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa and host of this BRICS Summit, for the invitation.
I would like to greet His Excellency Mr. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of the Federative Republic of Brazil; His Excellency Sergei Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, on whose behalf I greet Mr. Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation; His Excellency Mr. Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of the Republic of India and His Excellency Mr. Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China.
I greet the new members of the NDB, the Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh Her Excellency Sheikh Hasina, the President of the United Arab Emirates His Excellency Mahommed bin Zayed AL Nahyan; the Prime Minister of the Arab Republic of Egypt His Excellency Moustafa Madbouly.
I would like to welcome the new BRICS members, the Republic of Argentina, the Arab Republic of Egypt, Ethiopia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
I greet His Excellency António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations and also welcome the important dignitaries and leaders of international organizations, distinguished participants, BRICS government officials, representatives of African countries, scholars, development partners and the media.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The BRICS and the NDB are part of my history. When I was President of Brazil, I had the good fortune to host the Fortaleza Summit in 2014, when BRICS leaders gave life to our institution. Now, as president of the NDB, I have the opportunity to take forward the vision that animated the founding countries and materialize it in concrete actions for the BRICS.
Today I want to talk about how the development of the African continent is strategically important for the global South; Africa is a continent that has been hurt by and bears the wounds of colonialism, unbridled exploitation and shameful slavery. Africa is where we come from, and the 21st century is the time to rescue it once for all.
That’s why it’s a great pleasure for me, as president of the NDB, to address the BRICS-AFRICA OUTREACH AND BRICS PLUS DIALOGUE.
The world is going through a very difficult time. We are living through a crisis of multiple dimensions. The combination of a serious climate crisis, a brutal increase in inequality, low growth, protectionism with the fracturing of global value chains and geopolitical conflicts of all kinds. Not to mention, sanctions and geopolitical fragmentation.
Insecurity and instability have become the rule rather than the exception, creating enormous difficulties, but also opportunities for growth and development in the Global South if we know how to face up to these challenges.
In this context, the BRICS become even more relevant, an opportunity to change this panorama. Together, we represent more than 46% of the world’s population and around 35% of the world’s current GDP. In terms of purchasing power parity, the BRICS economies are estimated to be collectively larger than the aggregate economy of the G7 countries. The expansion of the BRICS is a force in the Global South that can never be ignored.
In this sense, the economic, social and cultural relations between the BRICS and the African continent have a deep historical basis. Africa is the cradle of humanity, and also a fundamental part of the solution for our future.
As the BRICS come about and Africa gains an ever-greater leading role as a global player, we renew our hope for new possibilities of development in Africa and the world.
The BRICS and African countries share a common vision of a dynamic, inclusive and sustainable global community. The legitimate quest by African countries to add value to their wealth will generate the necessary prosperity.
A new financial architecture is urgently needed to channel the resources needed to expand physical and digital infrastructure, enable the expansion of education and support entrepreneurship. The NDB, the so-called BRICS bank, is a fundamental part of this solution. In this endeavor, the BRICS group is strategic and can amplify the positive results it has been producing.
In recent years, for instance, the BRICS have expanded their economic involvement in Africa. In 2010, the BRICS share of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on the African continent was 4.9% of the world total. In 2021, BRICS share reached 8.8%. And it could go much higher.
As for international trade, between 2010 and 2022, the buying and selling of goods between the BRICS countries and Africa increased from 280 billion dollars to 473 billion dollars. The BRICS are good trading partners for Africa and have a lot of room and opportunities to move forward.
We know that despite these achievements, there are many challenges to overcome. One of them is related, as I said, to the expansion of financing mechanisms, notably using local currencies and other financial instruments that may be created, so that we set up a new financial system, which is more multilateral and inclusive.
Another aspect is to increasingly allow joint projects between several countries to be carried out, as is the case with interregional infrastructure projects.
Here on the African continent, for example, we have the largest untapped hydroelectric potential on the planet, the Grand Inga Dam, which can guarantee renewable, continuous, basic, safe and affordable energy. It has three times the capacity of The Itaipu Dam in Brazil and twice the capacity of The Three Gorges Dam in China. The Grand Inga Dam is capable of serving as an energy source for an entire continent.
It is also worth noting that the Global South needs to seek to add value to its wealth and its source of sustainability. It is also time to seek a reindustrialization with new characteristics.
There is a clear need to establish a new financing model to promote these renewable and efficient multinational projects. This will accelerate the pace of regional integration and deepen partnerships in the Global South.
Multilateral platforms such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the African Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank and the NDB are strategic in the quest for a fairer and more inclusive rebalancing of the international financial order.
The NDB is the first development bank created by and for emerging economies.
The NDB’s priorities are aligned with the African Union’s Agenda 2063. The NDB supports projects that reduce social and gender inequalities, that guarantee access to health services, education and housing and that contribute to improving the living standards of the large communities of excluded populations that still exist in the countries of the Global South, in Asia, in Africa and in my Latin America.
Once again, I want to say that I am deeply honored to be president of the New Development Bank and to be here in Africa. We are working together to reduce inequalities, create jobs and boost economic growth in our member countries.
The NDB has the potential to be a leader in financing projects that address the most pressing challenges facing countries on the African continent. I am confident that, together, we can realize this vision and mission.
Thank you.