Trade and Industry Minister, Dr Rob Davies, has arrived in China for the Brics Industry Ministers Meeting and Trade Ministers Meeting.

The Department of Trade and Industry (dti) said on Friday that the two meetings would be preceded by officials’ meetings from the Brics countries, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The meetings will discuss areas in which the Brics countries can enhance cooperation on issues related to trade and investment. The key areas of focus will be trade and investment facilitation, trade in services, intellectual property rights, economic and technical cooperation and the multilateral trading system.

The dti said that last year the Ministers Meeting in India had evaluated progress in the implementation of the Strategy for Brics Economic Partnership. It also emphasised the need for strengthening the Brics economic partnership and operationalisation of the strategy to ensure greater participation, value addition and upward mobility in Global Value Chains of Brics firms, including through the preservation of policy space to promote industrial development.

“The Brics platform provides an opportunity to promote the implementation of a practical trade and investment agenda among Brics countries. In addition, the issues to be discussed in the Brics trade ministers are critical in driving an inclusive trade and investment agenda. South Africa will chair Brics in 2018,” said Davies.