Your Excellencies, the BRICS Leaders;
Your Excellencies, Leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the Eurasian Economic Union and special invited Leaders;
Distinguished delegates;

I would like thank President Putin for creating this possibility to engage in dialogue with the Leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the Eurasian Economic Union and special invited Leaders, all who are friends of South Africa.

We have shared common challenges, but remained tied together by our historic solidarity, as well as our shared respect for the principle of mutually beneficial cooperation, which has existed for many decades already.

As the balance of power progressively shifts towards our regions and a pluralistic, multi-polar world order is taking shape, formations such as ours, are clearly indicative of our increased confidence, representing an amplified voice for addressing the needs of the majority of people globally.

The synergies that exist in terms of the respective agendas and related work programmes of our inter-governmental groupings and organisations are evident and hold strong potential for our future collaboration.

As member states of the BRICS formation, we share the sentiments as contained in our session’s theme that our Chairperson proposed, namely “Ways to increase the well-being of the peoples of our countries”. 

We find convergence in our respective priority areas for cooperation, including sustainable socio-economic development, boosting trade, economic and investment activities.

Our economies are also involved in developing cooperation in high-technology sectors of the economy, modernising various branches of industry, implementing projects aimed to develop transport logistics, information communications and infrastructure, raising the economic competitiveness and improving the living standards of citizens in our member countries.

This in fact was the rationale that informed our first dialogue with African Leaders in 2013, as well as South American Leaders in 2014.

I am delighted to now also interact with this important region, so strategically endowed with natural and human resources.

As South Africa, we have identified sectors such as food production, power generation, the petro-chemical industry, mining, tourism, renewable and nuclear energy, trade, transportation, communications and training as key areas for cooperation, albeit hardly exhaustive.

The time has never been more appropriate to advance our engagement to a next level considering the major milestone anniversaries on the global agenda.

Earlier this year, we celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of the Bandung Asia-Africa Conference and we will celebrate the seventieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War and the creation of the United Nations as well as adopt the post 2015 Development Agenda at the UN General Assembly session later this year.

May the bonds of friendship, solidarity and cooperation also be extended with the African continent as we seek to grow together in peace, development and prosperity.

I thank you.