BRICS can enhance South-South cooperation in trade, technology and infrastructure development realms, Ethiopian state media reported on Wednesday, citing Finance Minister Ahmed Shide.
"There is a lot we can do together in terms of trade, infrastructure development, technology transfer and capacity building. The BRICS also advocates for enhanced cooperation between developing countries or South-South cooperation. And this is a very important platform to address the global challenges," the minister reportedly said at the World Economic Forum held in Saudi Arabia.
Furthermore, Ahmed Shide noted that his country is "proud" to be part of the bloc, adding that BRICS can enhance the current collaboration among the nations.
"The BRICS is a very important platform of cooperation globally, which Ethiopia is proud to be its member. Ethiopia believes the BRICS is going to complement the already existing cooperation between the countries," he was quoted as saying.
Ahmed Shide also emphasized that his country plays a crucial role in fostering cooperation between the Horn of Africa and Arabia. This partnership is growing due to the close geographical and historical ties between the two regions, he noted, saying that collaboration can be used to tackle shared challenges.
One of such challenges is perhaps migration. In late March, the East African country announced that it was planning to bring back 70,000 of its citizens who have been residing in poor conditions in Saudi Arabia, which faced allegations from rights groups regarding its mistreatment and killing of foreign laborers.