South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, arrived at the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi this weekend carrying a specific set of demands: stop exporting African minerals in raw form, compel wealthy nations to fund climate adaptation, and build payment systems that enable trade in local currencies. The gathering, held Saturday and Sunday (12-13 September 2026) under India’s chairship, is the venue South Africa has chosen to press those demands in front of the world’s major emerging economies.
At the core of Lamola’s agenda is a fundamental shift in how Africa handles its mineral wealth. African countries, he argued, should build processing capacity on the continent rather than shipping raw critical minerals abroad. Greater beneficiation would drive industrial development, create manufacturing opportunities, develop local skills, and keep more value inside Africa instead of letting it flow to wealthier nations. The frustration behind that position is straightforward: extraction models leave developing countries dependent on commodity sales while richer nations capture the profits from processing and manufacturing.
Climate finance sits alongside minerals as a non-negotiable. Developed countries in the Global North bear an obligation to fund adaptation measures in developing nations, Lamola said. He framed climate action not as a separate concern but as something intrinsically linked to the broader development challenges facing the Global South. Using BRICS as a bridge between North and South on climate issues, in his view, could help translate that obligation into actual resources rather than pledges.
Meanwhile, the Finance Track discussions at the summit are exploring payment systems that would allow member nations to trade and settle in their own currencies. If those systems develop into workable tools, they could reduce transaction costs and tighten economic ties among BRICS members.
The selection of the next UN Secretary-General adds a further layer of strategic calculation. António Guterres’ term ends in December 2026, and the process is already moving. Lamola stressed the importance of Global South countries coordinating their positions. He pointed out that the UN has never elected a woman Secretary-General, and that Latin America’s turn has come according to informal regional rotation traditions. How the Global South navigates that process could shape the organization’s priorities for years ahead.
India’s chairship has expanded the scope of BRICS cooperation considerably, encompassing health, agriculture, food security, energy, supply chains, digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and development finance. The enlarged grouping, which now includes major emerging economies and developing countries beyond the original five, gives South Africa a platform of real weight.
Lamola also raised the demographic dimension. Africa’s population stands at approximately 1.4 billion people, youthful and growing, which makes questions about skills development, employment, and climate resilience urgent rather than abstract. BRICS, in South Africa’s framing, should become a vehicle for turning that human potential into sustainable economic opportunity.
The summit’s theme, “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability,” reflects India’s ambitions for its chairship year. Whether the outcomes match the ambition is the open question. South Africa is pushing for practical, measurable commitments rather than rhetorical ones, and whether BRICS can deliver on those fronts will determine whether it functions as a genuine counterweight to existing global institutions or remains a coalition with shared interests but limited concrete leverage.