Several Africa leaders are gathered in the South African city of Johannesburg for the BRICS Outreach Dialogue Session, which come on the back of a successful BRICS Summit.
Among the present heads of state include; Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Edgar Lungu (Zambia), Hage Geingob (Namibia), João Lourenço (Angola), Emmerson Mnangagwa (Zimbabwe), Ali Bongo Ondimba (Gabon), Mokgweetsi Masisi (Botswana) and Peter Mutharika (Malawi).
The African leaders were invited by the host nation, South Africa, to discuss ways of pursuing inclusive growth on the continent with BRICS heads of state.
BRICS leaders began talks on Wednesday, after which they signed a declaration supporting an open and inclusive multilateral trading system as envisaged by the World Trade Organization.
All BRICS leaders attended the Summit in Johannesburg, including President Xi Jinping (China), President Vladimir Putin (Russia), Prime Minister Narendra Modi (India), President Michel Temer (Brazil) and President Cyril Ramaphosa (South Africa).
In 2017, China innovated on the traditional Outreach approach by introducing the concept of BRICS Plus, which entailed a dialogue with Emerging Markets and Developing Countries.
The rationale behind the BRICS Plus concept is to create a platform for greater interaction and partnerships amongst countries of the Global South to shape the agenda to effect changes in the global economy.
Also present for the Friday talks include President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (Turkey) and President Mauricio Macri (Argentina).
