On Sunday evening President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on the much-anticipated BRICS Summit, which is currently underway, and outlined the country’s foreign policy. With over 20 countries having applied to join BRICS, Ramaphosa said the world is becoming increasingly complex and fractured, and further warned that multilateralism was being replaced by the actions of different power blocs. Meanwhile, the formation has frequently asserted itself as a mechanism to reduce the world’s reliance on the US and the dollar as a global reserve currency. In this conversation, we want to unpack what this means as well as how a new world order pioneered by BRICS could translate geopolitically.

Independent Foreign Policy Analyst and Executive Director at the Institute for Global Change Dr Philani Mthembu along with the Director of Programmes at Futurelect Dr Sithembile Mbete join Lerato Mbele for the conversation.