Global South Rising, BRICS Not Mere Symbolism: South Africa Minister To NDTV

On the eve of the BRICS Foreign Ministers' meeting in New Delhi, South Africa's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, delivered a sharp and confident message to the world - the Global South is rising, BRICS is delivering concrete results, and the days of Western hegemony are numbered. In an exclusive interview with NDTV's Senior Executive Editor Aditya Raj Kaul, Lamola dismissed growing criticism that BRICS is little more than political symbolism, pointing to tangible financial support his country has received through the BRICS-backed New Development Bank. "In South Africa, where the challenge is in the logistics sector, we now have a concessional loan from the BRICS Bank to our logistics company Transnet. We've also got a loan to deal with our water crisis from the BRICS Development Bank. So for us, this is a key partnership platform to build on development," he said.