South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed South Africa’s readiness to host the historic 15th Summit of BRICS nations - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, his press office reports. It will be the first BRICS Summit to be hosted in person since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent global restrictions.
President Ramaphosa has in recent months and weeks held a number of consultations on the hosting of the Summit. The President’s most recent consultation in this regard took place last night, Tuesday, 18 July 2023, at the BRICS Political Party Dialogue in Gauteng.
The Summit will be attended by the leaders of Brazil, India, China and South Africa.
“By mutual agreement, President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation will not attend the Summit but the Russian Federation will be represented by Foreign Minister, Mr. Sergey Lavrov”, the press handout said.
In due course, a comprehensive statement on the substantive issues to be covered at the Summit and other related foreign policy matters will be issued.
“President Ramaphosa is confident that the Summit will be a success and calls on the nation to extend the necessary hospitality to the many delegates who will arrive from various parts of the continent and the globe”, the South African Leaders press office concludes.
