The BRICS club of emerging nations debates letting others in
South Africa, the last country to join the BRICS bloc, in 2010 on China’s invitation, will have to walk a fine diplomatic line with its allies in the West. In the coming months, South Africa will turn its attention to its second-largest trading partner after China, the United States, hosting a meeting about a continental […]
SA army might be missed in DRC regional force
The struggling South African army will be hard-pressed to make a meaningful contribution to a planned new regional force that is supposed to bring about peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). SADC wants the new force to be deployed by the end of September, but there is still no clarity on the […]
African exports to China plunge
China’s push to promote imports from Africa has yet to boost trade numbers, with shipments from the continent falling 12.4 per cent to US$53 billion in the first half of 2023, according to data from China’s General Administration of Customs. South Africa had a brighter trade outlook than most of the continent. In this interview with South China […]
Why key global players are turning their focus on Africa
With geopolitical confrontation and tensions deepening, the key global players are swiftly turning their focus on Africa. In practical terms, African leaders are also making strategic choices based on their development paradigms. While Russia has been struggling to make inroads into Africa these years, the only symbolic event was the first Russia-Africa summit held in Sochi. […]
Ukraine war looms large over Russia-Africa Summit
The second Russia-Africa Summit set for 27 to 28 July in St Petersburg which will see African leaders are to meet with Russian President Vladimir, comes as Moscow continues to wage war against Ukraine. In this VOA interview, SAIIA’s Head of the African Governance and Diplomacy Programme Steven Gruzd argues that there will be a lot […]
Ethiopia signals interest in joining BRICS
Addis Ababa wants to be part of the economic bloc that includes Brazil, China, India, Russia, and South Africa. But what chances does the Horn of Africa nation have? In this Deutsche Welle interview, SAIIA’s Senior Researcher Gustavo De Carvalho says there are many countries who want to join BRICS and share similar characteristics to […]
African leaders head to Ukraine and Russia on a peace mission
African leaders are heading to Moscow and Kyiv in an effort to try to resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The delegation which will be led by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa includes heads of state from Zambia, the Republic of Congo, Egypt, Senegal and Uganda. In this VOA interview, SAIIA’s Head of the African Governance and Diplomacy Programme […]
How Bangladesh can benefit by joining BRICS
In April this year, South Africa’s BRICS ambassador Anil Sooklal told Bloomberg that a long list of nations were now looking to join the bloc. According to an official of the foreign ministry, Bangladesh will apply to join the BRICS alliance, and the process to formally seek its membership is already underway. In this interview with […]
How Putin’s war turned an economic conference into an alliance against the West
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa faces an uncomfortable diplomatic conundrum. Two months after he invited Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to a summit in Johannesburg this August, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Russian president for war crimes in Ukraine. SAIIA’s Senior Researcher, Cobus van Staden, discusses Pretoria’s ties with the Kremlin in […]
The BRICS ministers in a push to develop counterweight to the West
Foreign ministers from the BRICS countries met in South Africa as the five-nation bloc seeks to forge itself into a counterweight to Western geopolitical dominance in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In this interview with Dispatch Live, SAIIA’s Senior Researcher Cobus van Staden says the BRICS is positioning itself as an alternative to […]