INCREASING TERRORISM IN AFRICA A CONCERN FOR BRICS, SAYS PANDOR

The foreign ministers of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have on Friday been meeting with friends of BRICS countries in Cape Town.

International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor at the BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs Meeting in Cape Town on 2 June 2023. Picture: Lindsay Dentlinger/Eyewitness News

BRICS International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor Sahel African conflict zones

Lindsay Dentlinger | 02 June 2023 18:25

CAPE TOWN - BRICS says it’s concerned about increasing terrorism in Africa.

The foreign ministers of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have on Friday been meeting with friends of BRICS countries in Cape Town.

Hosting the gathering, International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor said that a war in one part of the world could not be the reason for wealthier nations not to meet their obligations to poorer ones.

Rounding up two days of discussions, Pandor said that BRICS members were committed to dialogue to resolve conflict.

She said that peace was necessary for development.

"We cannot allow a conflict in one part of the world to replace the ambition of eradicating global poverty as the world’s greatest global challenge."

As more African nations look to join the BRICS family, Pandor said that civil war on the continent was a concern.

"The sway that these extremist groups are beginning to have in a number of countries, particularly in the Sahel region, we said when we talk about peace and security, we mustn’t just talk about one part of the world."

Pandor said that BRICS ministers had reaffirmed fostering dialogue as a pathway to peace.