The BRICS Summit will advance the cause of common prosperity and progress, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Wednesday afternoon as he welcomed the leaders from Brazil, Russia, India and China at the opening of the 15th BRICS Summit.
Ramaphosa said the BRICS partnership that straddles four continents and five countries that are home to almost three-and-a-half billion people has over the past decades been a major driver of global growth, trade and investment. “We are confident that this 15th BRICS Summit will advance the cause of common prosperity and progress. We are confident that (it) will enrich and inspire our work towards the achievement of a more humane global community,” he said. Underlining that BRICS stands for solidarity, progress, sustainable development, inclusiveness and a “more just, equitable world order”, the president said, “We are an inclusive formation of developing and emerging economies that are working together to benefit from our rich histories.