Ramaphosa: BRICS summit hugely successful

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. [Photo: Imagine China]

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is hailing the conclusions from this year's BRICS summit.

Addressing a media briefing after the conclusion of the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, Cyril Ramaphosa, who chaired this year' event, says a wide variety of issues have been discussed, with broad consensus being made.

He says BRICS is an important bulwark against a rising trend of unilateralism and trade protectionism, and that BRICS member countries will work together to promote multilateralism and seek common development.

"We discussed the need to safeguard and strengthen the multilateral system. In fact we took a firm stance against protectionism and felt that we need to do everything we can to strengthen the multilateral system in the world which is now under attack. There are many attempts to weaken it," says Ramaphosa.

Ramaphosa also says the BRICS grouping will play a leading role in pushing forward of the fourth industrial revolution.

"The BRICS countries are determined to work together to be at the leading edge of the fourth industrial revolution to mitigate the risk and seize opportunities of this new industrial age," says Ramaphosa.

Ramaphosa also contends the agreements and consensus reached at the meeting show that BRICS is a group which takes action.

"We once again, through the decisions that we took, confirmed that BRICS is not a talk shop, it's a forum of five countries that want to see actions that want to see the decision that we take implemented," says Ramaphosa.

The South African President has also taken time to talk about China's efforts in supporting other emerging economies, saying that relations between China and these countries are mutually beneficial.

"We see the relationship between China and other countries in Africa and indeed emerging countries as a mutual beneficial type of a relationship and that is why we see our relationships in BRICS as a win-win. It is not one country benefiting itself to the exclusion of others," says Ramaphosa.

Beyond the five member countries, this year's BRICS summit has also gathered leading officials from 31 other countries, including 19 from Africa.