Brics benefits will flow into Africa

South Africa’s invitation to join the Bric
group of countries (Brazil, Russia, India
and China) will clearly boost Africa’s
emerging economies.
Analysts have keenly been watching
events unfold after China officially invited
South Africa to join Bric in December
2011. Bric, which will now be renamed
Brics, is set to benefit Africa significantly.
According to the International
Marketing Council, the move will
definitely boost trade and investment in
South Africa and the continent because
South Africa is widely considered the
gateway to Africa.
According to International Relations
and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-
Mashabane, the rationale for South
Africa’s approach was related to a matter
of crucial importance to Brics member
states, namely “the role of the emerging
economies in advancing the restructuring
of the global political, economic and
financial architecture into one that is
more equitable, balanced and rests on the
important pillar of multilateralism”.
South Africa, which first approached
Bric in 2009 about the possibility of
becoming a member, will be attending the
third Brics Leaders’ Summit in China later
this year.
According to Yang Jiechi, Chinese
Minister of Foreign Affairs, South Africa’s
accession will promote the development
of Brics. “It will also enhance cooperation
among emerging market economies,” he
said in a statement.
The International Monetary Fund
predicts that Brics will account for 61%
of global growth in three years. “Sooner
or later the economic importance of the
Brics will have to be adequately taken into
account,” the IMF said.