South Africa may be the smallest economy and population in the BRICS grouping but it comes with a great deal of political influence and economic potential both domestically, in the SADC and the African continent.

This is according to South Africa’s High Commissioner to Canada, Mohau Pheko, who said the invitation for South Africa to join an expanded BRICS partnership – which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – was both mutually beneficial and an astute recognition by the other partners that South Africa has a significant contribution to make in the grouping.

He said South Africa had over the past decade been able to prominently position itself on the continent and create a great deal of leverage through its investment footprint.

“This brings to BRICS a new dimension that exposes new opportunities and creates an avenue for greater economic and political interaction,” Pheko said in a statement, noting that Africa was undeniably vital to the economic interests of the powerful emerging markets with a high growth potential. He said the importance of Africa in South Africa's trade profile was often ignored.

Pheko also pointed out South Africa's commitment to international financial stability through the G20 and the work of the Financial Services Board, which is strengthened by its role in seeking greater democracy in and the reform of the Global Financial Architecture.

“The country's foreign policy agenda mirrors much of the focus of the other BRIC members, the unity of purpose amongst BRICS members in calling for the reform of the global governance system, international trade and climate change to name a few, undoubtedly lends to a natural partnership.

“A Russian Foreign Ministry statement, which was echoed in similar statements by other BRIC members, celebrated the invitation of South Africa to join the partnership, it stated that ‘South Africa's inclusion is in line with sustainable trends of global development, including the emergence of a polycentric international system’," said Pheko.

He further noted that BRIC may have had its roots in an economically-focused Goldman Sachs Report but the genesis and evolution of BRIC to BRICS has a deep-rooted political and economic dimension to its current existence.

“Since June 2009 in Yekaterinburg, the grouping has ushered in a new dimension to the global political discourse: The world has changed fundamentally since the end of the Cold War, the global political and economic system is reconfiguring to reflect the new realities that characterize this environment.

“Global interdependence and national interests which have a deep political economic dimension has come to characterize the contemporary international system, BRIC is a political voice for emerging markets, the economic dimension of BRIC has a clear and unequivocal political will behind it and this was strongly highlighted at the 2010 Brasilia Summit,” said Pheko.

– BuaNews