The Deputy Minister responsible for State Security in the Presidency, Mr. Zizi Kodwa MP will, as from today, Tuesday, 24 August 2021 take part in two strategic meetings of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and IBSA (India, Brazil and South Africa) respectively.

The 11th meeting of the BRICS High-Ranking Officials Responsible for Security Matters and the Inaugural Meeting of the IBSA High-Ranking Officials Responsible for Security Matters are convened by India as the current chairperson of both these Multilateral Forums. Among others, the BRICS meeting will focus on the following strategic security issues;

Assessment of Threats to Global, Regional and National Security in Contemporary Times,

Prospects for Cooperation among Law Enforcement Agencies of BRICS Members States,

Prospects for Cooperation among BRICS Member States on Health, Safety and Healthcare,

Adoption of Plan of Action for Implementation of BRICS Counter Terrorism Strategy and,

Review of Activities of BRICS Working Groups on Counter Terrorism and Security in the use of Information and Technology.

The Deputy Minister says that he is confident that the joint efforts of the BRICS partners will help alleviate the global threats to national security and that these form the basis for reforming the current global governance architecture.

The IBSA meeting on the other hand will focus on finalizing the agenda on security and other strategic issues for the planned IBSA Summit of the 05 September 2021. Among the issues on the agenda is the enhancement of defence cooperation between the IBSA partners, especially in the naval space.

Foreign Ministers of the three IBSA countries will have their own session on Monday, 30 August 2021. All these meetings will be conducted virtually in compliance with the COVID19 regulations and protocols.

Source: Government of South Africa