S. African president hails outcomes of BRICS summit

South African President Jacob Zuma said on Saturday he was upbeat and pleased with the outcomes of the 7th Summit of the BRICS, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The summit, held in Ufa, Russia, succeeded in deepening cooperation amongst BRICS nations and in bolstering the BRICS formation for a greater contribution to global political and economic affairs, Zuma said upon return from the summit.

Zuma led a high-power delegation to the summit under the theme: "BRICS Partnership – A Powerful Factor in Global Development".

"There is no doubt in our minds that almost seven years after we joined BRICS, the world's geopolitics is changing and the BRICS bloc of countries is having a significant impact particularly on the developing economies," Zuma said.

"We are pleased with the outcomes of the seventh BRICS Summit," the president added.

Amongst other things, the BRICS leaders welcomed the entry into force of the Agreement on New Development Bank (NDB) signed during the 6th BRICS Summit in Fortaleza, Brazil last year.

The leaders said the NDB shall serve as a powerful instrument for financing infrastructure investment and sustainable development projects in the BRICS and other developing countries as well as emerging market economies.

The 7th BRICS Summit also noted the conclusion of the ratification process of the Treaty Establishing a Contingent Reserve Arrangement of the BRICS and its entry into force and the signing of the BRICS Inter-Central Bank Agreement.

Zuma used the occasion of his visit to Ufa to hold bilateral meetings with his BRICS counterparts on the sidelines of the Summit, wherein the scope of South Africa's existing political, economic and socio-cultural ties with these countries was discussed and new areas of cooperation were explored, his spokesperson Harold Maloka said. Endi