South African journalists at the BRICS Summit 2026 in New Delhi lauded India’s diplomacy and called for the Global South to pool resources and achieve self-sufficiency, highlighting the bloc as a platform for ‘voiceless’ nations to resolve challenges.
South African journalists covering the BRICS Summit 2026 in New Delhi called for pooling resources and for the Global South to be self-sufficient, while hailing India’s diplomacy as the host nation. South African journalist Siyabonga Sithole recalled President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address at the Leaders’ Session of the BRICS Business Forum, calling for economic cooperation. Noting India as an important ally to the nation, he said that BRICS has become a platform for “voiceless” nations in the Global South.
A Voice for the Voiceless
Sithole said, “Yesterday our President Cyril Ramaphosa was on a podium and touched on economic issues affecting all BRICS countries. And how they should take charge of the economy. The way of doing politics and trade has been a subject between third world counties and so-called Western countries. It is time countries take charge of their minerals and infra without seeking second-hand help from Western countries.”
“These are the issues that affect Africa, the Middle East and Asia. The time has come to make pledges and implement those declarations that come with every BRICS Summit. India is a very important ally to South Africa and other BRICS member states that were invited to become part of the voice. The voice of the voiceless is coming up because of BRICS. BRICS proposes a unique way to speak about our problems and challenges and to go about resolving them. This is an important platform for South Africa and the rest of Africa,” he added.
Earlier on Friday, Ramaphosa addressed the Leaders’ Session of the BRICS Business Forum here and said BRICS as a grouping is at an “inflection point” amid shifts in the global economy, changing trade patterns, rapid technological advances and growing climate pressures, calling the developments an opportunity to shape a more resilient, diversified and inclusive economic future for the Global South.
Journalists Share Positive Experiences
Describing his first visit to India, Head of Diplomatic Desk in Leadership Newspaper, Nigeria, Odoh Innocent, said, “This is my first visit to India, and incidentally, it coincides with the BRICS Summit. I can assure you that this is a wonderful experience for me as a journalist. I have always dreamt of covering BRICS, and my visit to New Delhi has given me the opportunity to be part of this great gathering. I am very sure that this will be a very productive coming together of different countries that, despite having different interests, share the single goal of building stronger, more inclusive nations for the future.”
“I have received very impressive writing materials and a media kit with items that are extremely useful for my work as a journalist. I really like it. Every country attending has brought a strong business delegation. BRICS nations have come together around common interests—uniting across our diversities to achieve the shared goal of avoiding exploitation, pooling our resources, and becoming stronger together,” he added.
Praise for India’s Diplomacy
South African journalist Edna Phashe expressed confidence in India’s diplomacy, noting that under PM Modi, the African Union also joined the G20. Phashe said, “I congratulate the people of India for hosting this event. Under Prime Minister Modi, the African Union became a permanent member of the G20, and more African countries are now participating in BRICS. This reflects India’s strong diplomacy. For South Africa, key issues include the development of new payment systems. Security will also be a major focus.”
Focus on Local Currency and BRICS Pay
Phat Jintanakun, a journalist from Thai News Network (TNN), emphasised the use of local currency and hailed the BRICS Pay initiative. Jintanakun told ANI, “This is my first time visiting India. I went to the Taj Mahal on Thursday. It was amazing and blew my mind. I got a media kit which came with a big backpack. We have some snacks and India coffee, a water bottle and paper and a pen. This will be another way to do trade by not using the main currency of the world. Using local currency might be a choice for the countries and might be good for trade. We are looking forward to seeing if there will be any kind of joint agreement within BRICS, because some members are not standing on the same position. The wars in Ukraine and Iran: some countries are taking one side and some on the opposite side.”
BRICS Pay is being developed as a bridge between national payment infrastructures rather than as a replacement for them. The initiative will cover customer-to-business (C2B) payments, initially aimed at travellers, as well as business-to-business (B2B) payments for international trade.
India’s BRICS 2026 Chairship Goals
Meanwhile, India’s BRICS Chairship comes amid global economic fragmentation, technological disruption, geopolitical uncertainty, climate change and resource pressures. For India, the 2026 Chairship is focused on translating the expanded representation of BRICS into meaningful cooperation and tangible outcomes, while building consensus among its diverse members and strengthening the effectiveness of existing mechanisms. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)