South Africa expresses hope for expanding relations with Russia after BRICS summit
Russia is an important partner primarily as a member of BRICS. We hope that the meeting of energy ministers of the BRICS countries will expand relations between Russia and South Africa. This statement was made by the Minister of Energy of the Republic of South Africa Kgosientsho Ramokgopa in a conversation with Izvestia on September 26.
"Russia is an important partner first of all as a member of BRICS and also due to the historical relations we have with Russia. It is one of those countries that we believe play an important role in achieving energy security conditions, in matters of technology, infrastructure, so we believe it is a strong relationship," the head of the agency shared.
According to Ramokgop, the African side is aware that Russia has expressed interest in investing in South Africa, particularly in the energy, oil and gas and coal sectors.
"We hope that the BRICS summit as well as the energy ministers' meeting will strengthen and expand the relations we already have," he concluded.
The meeting of BRICS energy ministers takes place on September 26 in Moscow.
On the eve of the meeting of the State Council Presidium, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the BRICS countries ' contribution to the global economy exceeds the G7 indicators. The Russian leader also pointed to the building of a new system of relations, where the states of the Global South are taking the leading role.
BRICS is an interstate association of countries. The last summit at the level of heads of its member states was held in Johannesburg in August 2023. Following its results, the BRICS members decided on a historic expansion. On January 1, 2024, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa were joined by Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia and the UAE. Russia will chair the organization in 2024.
