CAPE TOWN, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Wednesday that BRICS partnership offers South Africa significant opportunities to expand and diversify its trade, to attract investment and develop its economic infrastructure.

Trade between South Africa and its BRICS partners has grown from 28 billion U.S. dollars to 35 billion dollars over the last decade, the president said in response to skepticism over South Africa's role in BRICS partnership.

Answering questions in Parliament for the second time since he took power in February, Ramaphosa said the BRICS countries account for 15 percent of South Africa's exports and 25 percent of the country's imports.

"Against the backdrop of unilateral measures taken by some developed countries to protect their domestic industries, BRICS countries are forging ahead with initiatives to expand intra-BRICS trade and investment," Ramaphosa said.

One such initiative is the China International Import Expo in Shanghai to be held in November 2018, which South Africa will use to expand the basket of products it exports to China, said Ramaphosa.

He also spoke highly of BRICS' role in safeguarding the world trade system.

The BRICS countries, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, constitute an important global voice in support of a rules-based, transparent and inclusive multilateral trading system that promotes a predictable trade environment and the centrality of the WTO, the president said.

The BRICS countries have reaffirmed their commitment to work together to shape a multilateral trading system that supports industrialization and economic diversification, he said.

The BRICS countries are in agreement that development must remain integral to the WTO's work and that developing countries should secure a share in the growth of world trade that matches their needs for economic development, Ramaphosa said.

They support provisions for special and differential treatment, including in agriculture, he said.

"This provides the necessary policy space for developing countries to pursue their development objectives, including industrialization, to promote their effective integration into the global economy," Ramaphosa added.

Individual BRICS countries are important and influential globally, but it is when these countries stand together in the alliance formed through BRICS that they are in a better position to advance a fairer global trade agenda, he said.