The Prime Minister, Mr. Samuel Ntsokoane Matekane on Wednesday afternoon left the country to attend the 15th BRICS Summit hosted by South Africa.
The summit which is held annually is the first in person since COVID-19.
Briefly in an interview, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations Mr. Lejone Mpotjoane said that South Africa as the host country and Lesotho’s neighbouring country has invited the Prime Minister as an observer on how the deliberations will unfold.
Mr. Mpotjoane said the Prime Minister is among the 30 African leaders invited, saying there will also be a meeting between these African leaders and BRICS leaders on how they all can collaboratively work in terms of trade.
The Prime Minister’s entourage includes the Minister of Trade and Industry Mr. Mokhethi Shelile, saying this will grant them an opportunity to be in talks with different countries present there including India and China which Lesotho already has relations with in terms of strengthening trade issues.
Meanwhile, before boarding his plane, Mr. Matekane inspected the guard of honour.
Besides developing economic relations and trade infrastructure, one of the most pressing issues on the summit’s agenda is BRICS’ expansion, with several nations from Asia, Africa and Europe vying to join the bloc.
While the group’s stance on expansion is divided, China and Russia have embraced it but India remains opposed to Beijing’s plans. About 40 countries are reported to have shown interest in joining the bloc formally and informally and they include Algeria, Belarus, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Indonesia, Argentina, Ethiopia and Egypt.
Another item on the agenda that has gained attention is the push from BRICS to conduct more cross border trade in local currencies to reduce the group’s reliance on the US dollar.
According to World Bank statistics, BRICS accounts for more than 40 percent of the world’s population and the combined GDP is more than 23 trillion US dollars thus 26 percent of the global economy.
Moreover, BRICS is a bloc of emerging world economies; Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa aimed at developing trade and economic cooperation among its member states.
It started in 2001 with only four member states and in 2010 South Africa was added to the group when the bloc extended its membership to another continent.
The first meeting was organized by Russia in 2006 with foreign ministers from Brazil, Russia, India and China in attendance and they discussed the economic bloc’s shared interests and common challenges, the most prominent being the rising US influence on world order.
The Prime Minister and his delegation will return on Thursday when the summit ends.
Source: LENA 23/08/2023
