BRICS a force for global transparency – African experts

Africa is seeking new cooperation with countries and international organizations on mutually beneficial terms, business experts from the continent who attended the ‘New Era – New Paths’ forum in Moscow told RT on Friday.

Meliane Aida Ouedraogo, director of Melyana Consulting in Burkina Faso, believes African countries have long been exploited by their international partners under a flawed model that fails to benefit them.

“Today’s cooperation should be built on a new foundation. We believe that the BRICS is an opportunity to create great openness,” she told RT.

BRICS – which previously comprised Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – has seen a major wave of expansion. Four more countries – Ethiopia, Iran, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates – joined the group at the start of this year, and further additions are expected in the future.

Henry Doue Tai, president of the Ivorian-Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, one of the dignitaries at the event, said African nations require collaboration from partners who can provide technology to help them harness their abundant resources.

Russia, India, South Africa, and the UAE represent the kind of union of economies that can help the continent, Tai said.

Meta Burkina President Idrissa Ouedraogo also said Africa has remained poor as a result of the West’s unipolar agenda, declaring that the continent is prepared to work with countries and organizations within the framework of multipolarity to eliminate the “unfair conditions” that impede development efforts.