Fellow BRICS Ministers of Science and Technology

I would like, in the first instance, to express my sincere appreciation to Minister Vardhan for the Government of India’s gracious hospitality in hosting this very important fourth BRICS Science and Technology Ministerial Meeting. South Africa greatly values the strategic leadership India has provided in advancing the BRICS agenda, including the preparations for next week’s very important Summit in Goa.

Ourmeeting here in Jaipur is the next step inintensifying and deepening our cooperation- after the successful negotiation of the BRICS Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation at our first Ministerial Meeting hosted in South Africa in 2014, the signature of the MOU at our Meeting in Brazil in March 2015,and the adoption of our work plan in Moscow in October 2015.

Let me state at the outset that South Africa remains fully committed to our partnership.

Ministers, in South Africa the policy priority for our government remainsaddressing poverty, unemployment and inequality. I am pleased to report that science, technology and innovation continues to be at the heart of our government’s response to these challenges. Important progress has been made. For example, earlier this week, in Cape Town, on the occasion of the International Conference on Research Infrastructures, I launched South Africa’s first national roadmap for research infrastructure investment. This is a strategic investment framework for critical research infrastructure investments across all disciplines in the coming years.

Cyber infrastructure investment will be at the heart of this effort, building on our recent upgrade of the capacity of our Centre for High Performance Computing. We are also pursuing the development of an ambitious Pan-African infrastructure, the African Data Intensive Research Cloud, as we seek to strategically position our continent to embrace the opportunities of the data economy and the dynamics of the scientific enterprise in the era of open science. Moreover, our MeerKAT radio telescope, a precursor to the global Square Kilometre Array or SKA project, is making startling progress. MeerKAT is already delivering impressive results,specifically the discovery of more than 1300 new galaxies.

Other major investment areas continue to be the life sciences - specifically our ambitions to developpharmaceuticalmanufacturing capacity in Africa -and renewable energy - with a special emphasis of hydrogen and fuel-cell technologies. We are developing a range of public-private partnerships as we seek to enhance the competitiveness of our economy. Preparing for what the experts refer to as the fourth industrial revolution, we launched earlier this year a comprehensive additive (3D printing) manufacturing strategy.

This is an important time for policy reflection in South Africa, and I have launched a process to develop a new White Paper as well as Decadal Plan for science, technology and innovation in South Africa. With our democracy now 22 years old, the time has arrived for critical reflection on the appropriate policy focus for South Africa in the 21stcentury. I intend to actively seek the input and advice from BRICS experts for this important process and would like to thank you in advance for your support.

Global cooperation remains one of the cornerstones of our science and technology strategy. The sharing with our international partners of experience and expertise is absolutely essential for South Africa’s national innovation system to progress. In this regard I am deeply grateful for the outstanding cooperation we enjoy with all BRICS partners.

Earlier this year, on the occasion of Indian Prime Minister Modi's visit to South Africa, we signed a new partnership agreement in the strategically important field of indigenous knowledge systems. Indeed, this year we are celebrating twenty years of vibrant cooperation in science and technology between democratic South Africa and India.

We are excited about recent developments in our bilateral partnership with Brazil as we seek to increase cooperation most notably in the field marine sciences, with a special focus on the South Atlantic, as well as on the development of low-carbon fuels through bio-refining.

Our cooperation with China continues to grow from strength to strength as evidenced by the fact that Vice Minister HOU will be travelling from Jaipur to South Africa to participate in the first South Africa-China Hi-Tech Exhibition, a networking platform designed to promote innovation partnerships between South Africa and China.

The Russian Federation remains a strategic partner of note and I am impressed by important advances in expanding our cooperation in the fields such as photonics, nanotechnology and the space sciences.

Ministers, the Jaipur Declaration, which we are scheduled to adopt, provides a comprehensive overview of a range of engagements. I would like to focus on three.

First, I am pleased to report that the Astronomy Working Group led by South Africa has executed its mandate. Over the past year two working group meetings took place and we have now a strategic plan in place for BRICS astronomy partnerships. Two scientific seminars were convened and already our astronomers are at work putting into practice the plans developed by our officials.

Second, I would like to emphasise the impact of the first pilot calls under the BRICS Framework Programme for multilateral cooperation in research and innovation. It is, to quote an often used expression these days, a proverbial game changer in the field of international science and technology partnerships. What we have achieved in a less than a year, other partnerships have taken decades to construct. The overwhelming response from our research and innovation communities to opportunities for cooperation provided under the Programme should encourage us to build on this success and to implement an ambitious second call without delay.

Third, I would like to congratulate the Government of India for its foresight in organising the first Young Scientists Conclave. There can be no more valuable investment than developing the human capital of the future. Our young scientists, who had the privilege to participate in the first Conclave, were not only enthralled by the experience but all have reported to me exciting plans to develop joint initiatives with the BRICS partners they had met. Ministers, investments such as these are shaping our future and we should step up our efforts in this regard.

In conclusion, looking towards the future, I would like to underline the strategic importance of the proposed BRICS Science and Technology Enterprise Partnership. I fully endorse the proposal prepared by our senior officials in their meeting yesterday. Now is the time for the BRICS partnership enterprise to focus science, technology and innovation on accelerating economic growth. The Enterprise Partnership will provide us with an enabling framework to achieve this objective.

Ministers, President Zuma has invited me to join his delegation to the upcoming BRICS Summit in Goa. There we will discuss progress in the implementation of the BRICS Strategy for Economic Partnership. The science, technology and innovation chapter of this strategy will be a determinant of its overall success and we have a huge responsibility through our work and initiatives such as the Enterprise Partnership. Our discussions here in Jaipur have left me greatly encouraged that the BRICS Ministers responsible for science and technology will be equal to this historic task.

In conclusion, I would like to thank our hosts again for all their efforts in providing us with an ideal environment in which conduct to our work – and to you all  – for outstanding cooperation. We have worked within the spirit of the theme of the Goa Summit – building responsive, inclusive and collective solutions. Together we are stronger.

I thank you.