In his first official visit to Russia after being inaugurated on June 8, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi reached deals Tuesday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to create a free trade zone with Eurasian countries and a Russian industrial zone in Egypt.
By Paula Martinez Gutierrez, September 24, 2014The New Development Bank seems to offer a more equal voting power: Each BRICS nation has contributed $10 billion to the lending fund and consequently each nation will have an equal say on the allocation of the money and the approval of loans. This effort to maintain an equal-share voting basis of the member countries is an appealing alternative from the Bretton Woods institutions’ policies, and has been applauded by many. although the currency has not been officially announced yet, many believe that the New Development Bank’s loans will be given in Renminb
Review: "The Art of Power Maintenance: How Western States Keep the Lead in Global Institutions" by Robert Wade (Challenge, vol. 56, no. 1, January/February 2013, pp. 5-39) by Oliver Stuenkel, Professor of International Relations at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in São Paulo. "the West has succeeded in transforming today's emerging powers into 'useful idiots', who are so proud that they are part of the G20 that they no longer defend developing countries' interests. Seen from this perspective, the rise of the BRICS may have been a positive development for the West, now that the poor have lost powerful defendants in Brasília and Delhi, who are increasingly defending big-power interests. At the same time, emerging powers should not complain: It is natural that the West will do everything do hold on to its power - after all, even China is not fully committed towards permanently including Brazil and India in the UN Security Council."
May 19 2013, By LOYISO SIDIMBA AND CANDICE BAILEY BAE arms deal > 5 billion euro German corvettes, Thyssen Rheinstahl Technik GMBH 1994 < 200 million euro Thabo's commission ca 20 million euro
Horace Campbell, Counterpunch: "It is the nature of the corrupted financial system to save the U.S. dollar that has driven societies such as South Africa into BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and is hastening the evolution of an alternative financial architecture. The organizational thrust of the economic formation called BRICS, along with the creation of the BRICS Development Bank, pose a serious challenge to the US dollar and the International Monetary Fund. Obama is following the example of the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, by visiting South Africa to assess firsthand the political and social climate at a moment when all and sundry are looking for ways to get into Africa’s changing economic dynamic."
the Trade and Development Report 2013 argues that export-led strategies – mainstay policies for countries such as China, South Korea and, to a lesser extent, South Africa – are no longer viable. Instead, more balanced strategies, geared towards generating a greater role for domestic and regional demand, should be pursued.
It is no surprise that South Africa, after a careful review of investment treaties, has decided that, at the very least, they should be renegotiated. Doing so is not anti-investment; it is pro-development. And it is essential if South Africa’s government is to pursue policies that best serve the country’s economy and citizens.
The Voice of Russia 27 November 2013 "South Africa's NPP project is estimated at 40 billion dollars to 50 billion dollars. Eight power generating units with more than one GW of power capacity each are due to be built under the project. Rosatom has offered assurances that in South Africa it will use its latest, - "post-Fukushima" – nuclear reactor safety systems. "Rosatom boasts the latest nuclear power plant building technologies, just as several US and European corporations," the Energy Development Fund Director Sergei Pikin said. Russia and South Arica have already reached agreement to that end. Now the agreement should be declared legally valid. The contract is due to be signed on February 15th next year. Rosatom says it is prepared to co-fund the project. Also, Russia has the required resources to supply fuel for nuclear power plants to be built, says an analyst with the Veles Capital investment company Ayrat Khalikov. Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_11_27/Rosatom-suggests-building-NPP-in-South-Africa-7382/"