UNSG set to attend BRICS Summit

SABC News has learned that the United Nations Secretary- General Antonio Guterres will fly to South Africa early next week to attend the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg.

He is among the group of 67 leaders and 20 international organisations that have been invited by the hosts.

Guterres’ attendance makes him the first UN Secretary General to attend a BRICS Summit, a likely nod to the growing importance of the bloc.

BRICS does account for more than 40% of the world’s population and more than 25% of the global economy and with several countries indicating a desire to join the bloc, this might grow in the years ahead.

Interlocutors at the UN have indicated that a key focus area of the UNSG will be the renewal of the Black Sea Grain Deal and its importance to global food security, reform of international financial institutions and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals ahead of a key summit this September.

A look at BRICS in numbers: