Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel will deliver the opening address at the inaugural BRICS Manufacturing Conference, taking place on 26 March 2021 at the IDC Conference Centre in Sandton.

Hosted by the BRICS Manufacturing Working Group (MWG), the one-day conference aims to assist South African manufacturers to identify opportunities to take advantage of the country’s relations with its BRICS counterparts.

BRICS MWG Chairman Kaizer Nyatsumba said the conference is an important platform to bring together the Government, business, think-tanks and other interested stakeholders to engage on how to revive the manufacturing industry through strengthening trade relations between South Africa and its BRICS counterparts, Brazil, Russia, India and China.

“Engagements and collaborations at this high level should be spearheaded by the leadership of these the different stakeholders, hence we are pleased to be able to count Minister Patel among our speakers,” Mr Nyatsumba said.

He said the participation of Minister Patel, along with other Government leaders, captains of industry and academics, is an acknowledgment of the importance of leadership direction in helping South African manufacturers to understand the trading and policy environment of BRICS countries, given the need to find outside markets as South Africa struggles to recover economically.

The Chairperson of the South African chapter of the BRICS Business Council, Busi Mabuza, will also be at the conference, where she will introduce the BRICS Business Council. Ms Mabuza is currently also the Chairperson of the Board of the Industrial Development Corporation, which is the headline sponsor of the BRICS Manufacturing Conference.

Mr Nyatsumba said it is imperative for South Africa to lead by example and heed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call to strengthen trade and investment ties with BRICS nations. Speaking at last year’s BRICS summit, President Ramaphosa said the BRICS countries needed to strengthen investment and trade ties in order to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and encouraged the countries to increase investment in Africa, particularly in manufacturing.

“Our role in paving the way for such investment is to ensure that we provide the local industry with the knowledge and expertise needed to trade with our BRICS partners, while also showcasing the opportunities that exist for such trade,” he said.