“We are an important forum”: South African President hails BRICS grouping, cites global GDP share

New Delhi [India], September 11 (ANI): South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday described BRICS as an important global forum, highlighting the grouping's growing demographic and economic weight and noting that its members account for around half of the world's population and 40 per cent of global GDP.
Speaking to reporters, Ramaphosa said, “BRICS is a very important forum for all of us. It's a very big collection of countries in the world. It represents a huge population. 50 per cent of the world's population lives in BRICS countries. And already now, 40 per cent of GDP is in BRICS, so we are an important forum.”
Ramaphosa's remarks came at a time when the expanded BRICS grouping is seeking to deepen economic cooperation among its members amid shifts in global trade, technology and investment patterns.
Earlier, addressing the Leaders' Session of the BRICS Business Forum, Ramaphosa highlighted the role played by the private sector in advancing economic cooperation within the grouping.
"The BRICS Business Council was established during South Africa's first BRICS presidency in 2013, in recognition that economic cooperation cannot be the responsibility of governments alone. As South Africa, we are very proud that we have 120 companies from South Africa represented at this business forum. That is a great achievement," he said.
Ramaphosa said BRICS was at an "inflection point" as the global economy undergoes major changes, including shifts in trade patterns, rapid technological advances and increasing climate pressures.
"As BRICS, we find ourselves at an inflection point. As the global economy is reshaped, as trade patterns shift, as technological advances accelerate, and as climate pressures increase, countries and companies are compelled to reconsider where they source, produce, and invest," he said.
He said the changing global economic environment presents an opportunity for BRICS countries to shape a more resilient, diversified and inclusive economic future for the Global South.
"For us, this is an opportunity to shape a more resilient, diversified and inclusive economic future for the Global South. For too long, developing economies have participated in global value chains mainly as suppliers of raw commodities and consumers of goods that are made elsewhere. Value creation, technology and higher-value manufacturing remained concentrated elsewhere," Ramaphosa said.
He further cautioned against reproducing the same pattern within the expanded BRICS and called for deeper productive relationships among member economies.
"We should not reproduce that pattern within the expanded BRICS. Our ambition must extend beyond increasing intra-BRICS trade to deepening the productive relationships between our economies," he said.
The remarks were made at the BRICS Business Forum, the flagship private sector platform of the grouping, which brings together business leaders, Ministers and Heads of State to discuss trade, investment, finance, technology and development challenges shaping the BRICS economic agenda.
The Forum also serves as a platform where key ideas and suggestions from the BRICS Business Council are presented and discussed. Its conclusions and the Business Council's recommendations are regularly reflected in BRICS Summit declarations and follow-up work plans, particularly on intra-BRICS trade, investment, digital economy, MSMEs, standards cooperation and value chain integration.
India is hosting the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12-13 under its 2026 chairship. India's Chairship is guided by the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”, with development, sustainability and innovation forming key areas of focus.
BRICS currently comprises 11 countries -- Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the UAE.
The grouping has emerged as an important platform for coordination among major emerging economies and for advancing the interests of the Global South in multilateral institutions. Its agenda covers development, finance, technology, trade and people-to-people exchanges.
India's BRICS Chairship comes amid global economic fragmentation, technological disruption, geopolitical uncertainty, climate change and resource pressures. The expanded grouping provides a platform for cooperation on development, climate action, technology, energy and financial resilience, while also contributing to discussions on reforms in global institutions. (ANI)