Experts from the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) will be in Brazil from Wednesday 12 March 2014 for a number of events related to the upcoming Summit.
The most important of these events is the 6th BRICS Academic Forum (18-19 March 2014), an annual event preceding the BRICS Summit in the host country. The Forum provides a platform for experts and scholars from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to engage with some of the issues expected to arise at the BRICS Summit, and subsequently provide policy advice to the leaders of the BRICS countries in July of this year.
SAIIA will also be hosting a seminar with the BRICS Policy Center (BPC) on 14 March 2014 in Rio, entitled The Evolving Agenda of the BRICS: Perspectives from Brazil and South Africa.
SAIIA will also be taking part in the 5th BRICS Trade and Economic Research Network (TERN) meeting, 17 March 2014, on “The impacts of Mega Agreements on BRICS.”
The following SAIIA experts will be in Brazil from 12 March, and will be available for interview:
- Catherine Grant Makokera (on trade issues within the BRICS group and the political dynamics in general)
- Lesley Wentworth (on BRICS investments and the Green Economy)
- Christopher Wood (on the role of BRICS members in their regions especially their influence in emerging economies)
- Judy Smith-Höhn (on BRICS security and conflict issues)
- Yu-Shan Wu (on soft power and public diplomacy)
- Tjiurimo Hengari (on South African Foreign Policy, African Driver States)
- Wolfe Braude (on SA Structural change and Industrial Policy)
The BRIC acronym (Brazil, Russia, India and China) originated in a 2001 Goldman Sachs paper as part of a forecast of global economic trends which found that the BRIC countries collectively would play an increasingly important role in the global economy. The group was formalised when the BRIC leaders held their first summit in 2009, calling for a more democratic and multipolar world. Since then annual summits have been held in each of the BRIC countries. The inclusion of South Africa into the group expanded the acronym to BRICS in 2010.
SAIIA has been following developments in the BRICS grouping for a number of years, and has produced a range of analyses and papers on the subject.
See: “The BRICS and the New World Order: A Beginner’s Guide” for a practical introduction to the BRICS and the major issues facing the grouping.
For more information or to arrange for interviews please contact:
Mr. Hopewell Radebe
SAIIA Communications Manager
Tel: +27 11 339 2021
Email: media@saiia.org.za
