24 July 2018•Update: 31 July 2018
By Dilara Zengin and Gokhan Ergocun
ANKARA
The BRICS group inviting Turkey to its annual summit this week provides a significant opportunity for all member countries to develop better economic and political ties with Ankara, said the representative in South Africa of Turkey’s Independent Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (MUSIAD).
This invitation from the BRICS group -- made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- is also an important development for Turkey, Abubekir Salim told Anadolu Agency.
The seriousness with which member countries approach the BRICS annual summit is reflected in the way the member countries' presidents and other leaders make it a requirement to honor, he stressed.
He noted that this year Turkey was invited to the summit even though it is not a member of the union, signifying the intention for inclusion and cooperation by the BRICS bloc.
"The meeting will also provide an opportunity for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss with Russia, China, India, Brazil and South Africa leaders not only economic matters but also all kinds of counter-terrorism issues that are of concern to all these countries," he stressed.
Salim added that it was inevitable that a country such as Turkey that emphasizes "The world is bigger than five" -- referring to the unrepresentative UN Security Council -- and has promoted the use of national currencies in international trade will strengthen relations with the BRICS countries.
The 10th BRICS summit, hosted by South Africa in the financial capital Johannesburg, starts on Wednesday and lasts through Friday.
The summit will the second international meeting attended by President Erdogan since the start of his second term, following the NATO summit of July 11-12.
Shifting away from the West
Salim said: "Economic and political powers are fast shifting from the dominant Western monopoly's hands to other economies like China and India, which have huge populations and impact on the global economy."
BRICS thus clearly constitute an important alternative to these institutions, especially for developing countries, he added.
"It is within this context and within the scope of the 2025 vision that the BRICS bloc aims to create a new financial system whose members support each other more aggressively," he said.
The summit, where issues related to the global economy, trade, investment and financial cooperation will be discussed, will host several leaders and business representatives.
Attendees will gather under the theme of "BRICS in Africa: Collaboration, Inclusive Growth and Shared Prosperity in the 4th Industrial Revolution Public Lecture."
Mehmet Simsek, Turkey's former deputy prime minister for the economy, has said that Turkey is looking at being a member of BRICS, which is establishing a new development bank, to benefit from it.
Turkey's trade with BRICS countries was $60.7 billion last year -- $7.3 billion in exports and $53.4 billion in imports -- according to Turkey’s statistical authority, TurkStat.
BRICS countries' share of the global economy is over 20 percent, and they have around 17 percent of international trade, according to the BRICS.
BRICS countries manufacture one-third of industrial products and half of the agricultural products worldwide, BRICS said.
Their foreign trade with the rest of the world last year totaled $5.9 trillion, according to the International Trade Center data.
The BRICS group was established in 2006 to enhance cooperation between member countries and also other developing countries.
