Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the BRICS needs to emerge as the lighthouse of the multi-polar world and be an inclusive platform responding to times.

“We need BRICS as a lighthouse in a multi-polar world. We hope to see BRICS emerge as an inclusive platform responding to our times. We must prove to our children and youth that our nations may suffer, but will never be defeated,” she said.

The prime minister was delivering a speech on behalf of Bangladesh as a member of the “New Development Bank of BRICS” at Friends of BRICS Leaders Dialogue (BRICS-Africa Outreach and the BRICS Plus Dialogues) comprising representatives from 70 countries at Sandton Convention Centre here.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa also spoke at the dialogue. On the sidelines of the BRICS Plus Dialogue, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo exchanged pleasantries with the Bangladesh Prime Minister.

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, Vice-President of Uganda, Deputy Prime Minister of South Africa, Russian Foreign Minister, Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia also exchanged pleasantries with the premier.

The Prime Minister also joined a photo session with the heads of the states and governments who arrived in Johannesburg to attend the 15th BRICS Summit. In the Global South, the Bangladesh premier said, “We should say ‘no’ to artificial choices and divisions being thrown at us. We must reject attempts to weaponize universal norms and values. We need to stop the cycle of sanctions and counter-sanctions.”