We can leverage South Africa’s relationship to harness the potential of the BRICS nations, says Mr. Benjamin Quashie.

Ghana’s High Commissioner-designate to South Africa, Mr. Benjamin Quashie, has stated that Ghana can leverage its robust bilateral relationship with South Africa to harness the opportunities presented by BRICS nations.

He emphasized that Ghana’s ability to strengthen bilateral ties with South Africa is a sure pathway to the BRICS, which will in turn lead to various sectorial advantages.

In an interview on Onua TV, Monday, August 26, 2025, he outlined some benefits Ghana can derive from its association with South Africa. Firstly, Quashie noted that South Africa’s wealth of industrial experience in mining, manufacturing, petrochemicals, etc., will be an indubitable partnership potential and learning curve for Ghana’s development journey.

Secondly, according to the High Commissioner-designate, Ghana’s import-substitution goals can be fast-tracked through a collaborative venture in the aforementioned sectors and beyond, highlighting, ‘This is a sure advantage in value-addition and industrial policy for Ghana’.

Thirdly, on the Pan-African front, Quashie suggested that, in terms of finance and investments, Ghana can ensure a stronger partnership with South Africa’s Development Finance Institution, which leans towards public interest investment finance. He underscored the fact that such a collaboration “will prove to be a sustainable and futuristic capital for our key sectors”.

Fourthly, as a current AfCFTA Youth Champion Fellow, he posited that the AfCFTA Secretariat in Accra can be utilized as a ground for co-developing cross-border supply chains between both nations for pharmaceuticals, processing of agricultural produce, and even renewable energy alternatives.

Furthermore, an equally important aspect is that this partnership serves as a diplomatic bridge into BRICS. Ghana can join hands with South Africa to lead a Western-Southern African regional coordination within BRICS and, in unison, spearhead reformatory proposals for Africa at the BRICS summits, especially around pressing matters such as debt restructuring, global trade, and climate finance.

Regarding how Ghana can leverage the BRICS for national development, he noted that, as the concept of realpolitik suggests, every nation operates from a place of self-interest, which is necessary for development. Consequently, he outlined ways Ghana can strategically benefit from the BRICS, such as investing in development finance by accessing the New Development Bank (NDB), which Ghana is eligible to join as a United Nations member, even if not yet a BRICS member.

The above is necessary because, in Quashie’s view, Ghana can leverage such sources to fund its large-scale infrastructure, transport, energy, etc., which are crucial for its industrialization process. “Our beloved President’s keenness on development through industrialization would greatly benefit from this move being part of its foreign policy in relation to bilateral ties with South Africa and an eventual access to the BRICS,” stressed Mr. Quashie.

Volta Aluminium Integrated Project, Western Railway Line Extension, etc, are all key aspects of our industrialization efforts that would merit immensely from such a move.
The subject of investment and trade diversification by strongly enabling bilateral trade in local currencies which reduces the duress on forex reserves proves to be another wholesome benefit for Ghana.

Dovetailing into the realm of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its potential benefits for Ghana, he noted that statistically, India, Russia, and China are at the forefront of digital governance and Artificial Intelligence globally. Furthermore, South Africa and Brazil are leading the way in industrial skills and Technical Vocational Education Training, while India and Brazil are implementing smart agriculture and irrigation, resulting in a significant boost to their food chain. As previously mentioned, Ghana can leverage the BRICS to access open-source technology, reduced Intellectual Property barriers, and affordable patents, he stressed.

The High Commissioner-designate proposed six National Strategies for collaborative efforts: diplomatic – formalizing a BRICS ‘partner country’ status via a South African alliance; financial – joining the NDB; industrial – joint development of South Africa-Ghana projects, such as electric vehicles, aluminium, agro-processing, etc.; trade – initiating local currency settlements with China, India, etc.; technology and education – launching a Ghana-BRICS partnership in training and tech transfer; and AfCFTA – fostering BRICS trade synergy through the Accra Secretariat.

As a Pan-African and Nkrumahist, he recommended that Ghana adopt a strategic approach to this partnership, exercising caution in foreign policy and emphasizing the importance of employing Nkrumah’s diplomatic strategy, which combined positive non-alignment with Pan-Africanism by leveraging relationships with Eastern and Western nations to safeguard Africa’s sovereignty and unity.

In his concluding remarks, Quashie cautioned that BRICS is not a panacea to Ghana’s development challenges, noting it is a bloc that also has internal rivalries, no common currency yet, and so Ghana must not replace other partnerships with it but use it to diversify our opportunities.

“Non-Aligned Movement’s stance for ‘many friends, no enemies’ would be applicable in this case so as to create a balance between our deepened ties with BRICS and links with EU-US and IMF”, he stated.