SA co-ops must take advantage of Brics

2011-07-02 10:02

Johannesburg - Co-operatives must take advantage of the Brics agreement which will open doors for South Africans to do business on a global scale, the department of trade and industry said on Saturday.

"After Brics signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to promote co-operative development amongst Brics countries, the onus is now on us South Africans to ensure that we reap the benefits of this," Deputy Minister Elizabeth Thabethe said in a statement.

"This we can do by identifying opportunities for co-operation with our Brics partners to ensure that we capitalise on this massive opportunity."

Thabethe spoke at a dinner hosted by the department of trade and industry (DTI) in partnership with the Eastern Cape department of economic development, the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), and the South African National Apex Co-operative (Sanaco) in East London on Friday night.

One of the commitments made in the MOU was the facilitation of bilateral and multilateral co-operation among co-operatives in Brics, a group of major emerging markets, comprising Brazil, Russia, India and China.

The countries also pledged to boost trade and investment co-operation between co-operatives in Brics countries through exhibitions, trade fairs and delegation visits, Thabethe said.

- SAPA