SOUTH AFRICA CLOSING
Prof. Sarah Mosoetsa, SABTT
Thanks Nirmala. Let me stop there. I wanted to end there. It has been a collective project, a collective initiative. I thank you for the role that you have played in making sure that this is a success, Normala. I appreciate. I see you. I welcome the support at all times. We've known each other for quite some time. We've worked in the BRICS space for such a long time that we have worked together until this point and beyond. Thank you. On that note, maybe let me also thank the Department of Higher Education and particularly our Minister, who has always been supportive of the work that we have done and the kind of leadership that I think I want to share or always live by inside the BRICS, but also in Higher Education, and he's been supportive of that. Sometimes, academics always want to go outside the permutations of government, and he's been patient in allowing us to do what we need to do. I thanked him and saw our responsible DDG sitting right at the back in support. I also want to thank DIRCO, International Relations, for the support, and obviously, Professor Sooklal, who also addressed us here, as well as the Deputy Minister. I'll come back to this particular one. I also want to thank all the chairs of all the sessions, all the delegates present here, the friends of BRICS, the friends of BRICS I see you, and thank you—the staff of NIHSS, SABTT and our service providers. You guys humble me every day, and I'm privileged and honoured, it's an honour to work with all of you. Let me be controversial and make the statement that not all men are chauvinists.
02:35
Not all men are chauvinists.
02:37
It's been a privilege and honour to work with all four of you. Your absolute respect and for always at all times wanting to remember that I'm in the room and I'm chairing our council meetings has been outstanding. I have been shaken sometimes at how you've always wanted to even have your own countries and then at that moment remembering that I'm in the room and you need to come back. I don't know how many times I've had to say, colleagues, let's come back, and there's immediate silence, and we come back to what we needed to do. I've been amazed. I want to thank you. Someone said to me, how are those council meetings? I'm sure I've answered your question.
03:40
Thank you.
03:41
There are pressing matters, BRICS family. There are pressing matters. And some of them we could not come back to for this academic forum. And as you heard, my colleagues, we will come back to all of those pressing matters as speedily and as urgently as they're required by our countries and our leaders, especially in time for the summit in Johannesburg. Yes, as a BRICS family, as academics, as scholars, we need to talk about the big question around currencies and currencies and the dollar and our own currencies, right, in relation to all of those currencies. Yes, we need to talk about our expansion and the possibilities of expansion. The criteria are outlined earlier on. We also need to talk about matters that are also pressing on technologies, on human-centred Artificial Intelligence. We also need to talk about how we measure our own progress in relation to our SDGs. I've been humbled at how some of the recommendations, especially around the BRICS Virtual Academy, have been warmly received by my friends and my colleagues here.
05:04
And the recommendation is a simple one.
05:07
We need to explore the possibilities of such an academy. Is it urgent? South Africa thinks it's urgent. My friends and colleagues think that it's urgent. I want to support the idea that even when we still need to think about the academy, we can, with immediate effect and actual effect, issue those, we can commission those papers. And South Africa will be happy to lead with all your support. I think it is urgent that those papers come together, and we can also have a follow-up symposium on all those four thematics that we think are urgent. Happy to lead on that. And I know that you'll support and thank you very much.
06:06
Yes, it's a family and with family there are always disagreements
06:10
but we always come together. I think that the one crisis that we've faced or our family member is experiencing has experienced very difficult for Russia at this point, and we share that. I think, though, from that crisis as a family, we've established one thing that everyone can talk about: BRICS. I don't know how many people, because of the crisis that as a collective we faced from Russia, how many people still don't know what BRICS is, something that we've been struggling to do for many years. So from that crisis, I think, came something very, very powerful. And from that crisis also came all of us coming together and saying we are coming to South Africa, and we will have difficult conversations here and there, but we are coming collectively as a BRICS. And indeed, as China has mentioned, we did not fall apart. We stood together. by wishing all of you safe journeys back home. I want to remind us, I want to remind us in this meeting that South Africa's presidency does not end today. It ends in December, and therefore, the dialogues, the conversation, and the research should continue. And as we hand over to Russia, indeed Russia, and I noted that you've said this more than once, we are coming to (noted that you've said this more than once), we are coming to Russia in 2024. I'll certainly be there and wish you well. Thanks.
