Lindiwe Zulu: ‘BRICS is a giant’

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By CGTN's World Insight

The BRICS group is now “beginning to be realized as a force in the global environment to contribute to building a better world,” says South Africa’s Minister of Small Business Development, Lindiwe Zulu.

Zulu, speaking to CGTN’s World Insight on the sidelines of the 9th BRICS Summit which ended Monday in the southeastern Chinese city of Xiamen, says the bloc has come a long way since its modest beginning 10 years ago.

Zulu was born in 1958 in Nhlazatshe, a village that was later razed to the ground during Apartheid.

Lindiwe Zulu in her youth. /CGTN Photo

She was a faithful follower of the African National Congress (ANC), the ruling party of post-apartheid South Africa, and was a fearless fighter during the days of Apartheid. After the social changes that took place in South Africa, she became a rising star in politics.

She served as a special consultant in international policy for President Jacob Zuma and during her tenure, she and her colleagues worked together to promote South Africa's accession to BRICS.

Lindiwe Zulu talks to CGTN's Tian Wei. /CGTN Photo

“We are now going into the next decade of BRICS and the countries are very clear about the priorities – peace, security and stability,” said Zulu, “For all the countries, (the priority) is creating friendship between those countries, ensuring the win-win situation for all the countries.”

“BRICS is a giant. We started rising slowly and people can see the giant is standing,” she added.

World Insight with Tian Wei is a 45-minute global affairs and debate show on CGTN. It airs weekdays at 10.15 p.m. BJT (1415GMT), with rebroadcast at 4.15 a.m. BJT (2015GMT).

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