The 9th BRICS Academic Forum and 6th Think-Tank Council Meeting were held from 10th to 12th June 2017 in Fuzhou, China, and was attended by Think-Tank representatives from BRICS countries, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – through the South African BRICS Think Tank (SABTT), as well as other emerging and developing countries including Egypt, Argentina, Chile, and Nigeria.
The Academic Forum concluded that the 9th BRICS Summit, scheduled for 3 to 5 September 2017 in Xiamen, will build on past achievements and usher in the second “golden decade” of BRICS cooperation. Among other, the Academic Forum and Think-Tank Council Meeting recommended to build up as well as manage the New Development Bank (NDB) – formed in July 2014, and the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank as part of enhancing support to BRICS and other developing countries by offering stronger financial support for their infrastructure and sustainable development projects. At the same time, the NDB is also expected to strengthen its cooperation with the BRICS Think Tank Council, the BRICS University League as well as the BRICS Business Council.
“We congratulate China on hosting a successful 9th BRICS Academic Forum and 6th Think-Tank Council Meeting! The next Academic Forum to be held in our shores (South Africa) in 2018 endeavors to fully support and galvanise joint efforts for successful academic cooperation, people-to-people and cultural eexhanges to deepen the BRICS strategic partnership,” says NIHSS CEO, Prof Mosoetsa.
The South African BRICS Think Tank (SABTT)
The South African BRICS Think Tank (SABTT) is led and coordinated by the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS) with the following broad objectives:
- Provide a platform for researchers and academics to exchange ideas and to generate evidence-based policy recommendations.
- Shape the strategic vision of South Africa and the wider African region around global financial, economic and governance issues.
- Provide research-based technical and institutional support to the South African government in the formulation and re-formulation of relevant BRICS related public policies and development programmes.
- Conduct policy analysis aimed at informing the long-term strategy of BRICS.
The research clusters and the five pillars upon which the BRICS long-term strategy rests are:
- promoting cooperation for economic growth and development;
- peace and security;
- social justice, sustainable development, and quality of life;
- political and economic governance; as well as
- progress through knowledge and innovation sharing.
