22 nations seek to join BRICS bloc as summit approaches

Credit: GCIS

BRICS Summit: Five presidents take handprints to be mounted at Cradle of Mankind [video]

A first look at what has come out of the BRICS Summit so far.

22 nations seek to join BRICS bloc as summit approaches

Credit: GCIS

The BRICS Summit continued in South Africa on Thursday as SA signed some agreements and President Cyril Ramaphosa shook a lot of hands and smiled. With everyone’s eye on the “nuclear” topic, the issue of handprints is a lot easier to deal with.

BRICS Summit: Handprints (and maybe deals) cast in stone

Thursday saw a number of open sessions take place as each of the five presidents gave a short address about the event in SA and what the group currently means to their country.

Read – BRICS update: Trump’s US trade war already ‘hurting’ SA

For Ramaphosa, he told the audience how the five leaders have agreed to a proposal by Russian President Vladimir Putin to deepen a “people to people component”.

Ramaphosa even mentioned that the countries should have a “Brics sports process in a number of sporting codes”. The hope? The popularity of sports that each country specialises in can spread between the different countries.

For Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the 4th Industrial Revolution will require a lot of work from the countries to be adequately prepared.

“Those [countries] that can make the most of this, will make the most progress. Talent will be more important than capital. It will be extremely necessary to bring about changes in the skills of our workers. We need to make rapid changes in our policies .. related to skills development.”

Somewhat ironically, Putin took the time to mention “digital realities” and how countries need to take the necessary measures to create a safe and reliable internet environment.

“Mr Mandela’s legacy is reflected in the activities if Brics.”

For China, another suspected shot was fired at Donald Trump as President Xi stressed that disagreements should be settled with “dialogue and consultation.”

Watch – China in SA: Mrs Ramaphosa shows First Lady Peng Liyuan the ropes

Brazil focussed on information and knowledge.

Once the addresses were completed, the presidents had been scheduled to visit the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site.

Due to practicality issues, the presidents were beamed into the area via Skype as they each placed their hands in cement.

The handprints would be taken to the site and placed next to the handprints of Nelson Mandela.

You can see video of the leaders taking their handprints below.