S. African gov't thanks BRICS for assistance during COVID-19

PRETORIA, June 1 (Xinhua) -- South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor on Tuesday thanked the BRICS countries for assisting one another and her country during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pandor said this while speaking at the virtual Meeting of the BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs/International Relations.

She said the BRICS helped South Africa to mitigate against the effects of the COVID-19.

"We congratulate BRICS for addressing the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly the important role of the New Development Bank (NDB) in addressing the health and the economic consequences of the pandemic," said Pandor.

"We are particularly pleased that we were able to, through NDB, implement the emergency assistance facility from which South Africa benefited to the amount of two billion U.S. dollars in loans to assist us in responding to the pandemic and post pandemic economic recovery," she added.

"We also thank all our BRICS partners for the immense support they gave to South Africa in its moment of need. BRICS continues to be alive and thrive," Pandor said.

The BRICS countries, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, are home to over 40 percent of the world population and about one-fourth of the world economy.