JOHANNESBURG, April 9 (Xinhua) -- A senior South African official on Thursday encouraged youths from BRICS countries to strengthen collaboration in research, innovation, and the application of indigenous knowledge to deepen people-to-people ties.

Speaking at the fourth BRICS Youth Innovation Summit in Pretoria, Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Sindisiwe Chikunga highlighted the importance of cooperation in research, enterprise, art and cultural exchange, stressing that BRICS' strength lies not only in trade and finance but in shared intellectual and cultural connections.

"The strength of BRICS will never reside solely in trade agreements or development finance. It will reside in the depth of the connection between the peoples of its member states. People-to-people relations, cultural exchange, academic mobility, artistic collaboration, and shared intellectual production are the infrastructure of lasting solidarity," she said.

The minister called on young people to help shape global artificial intelligence governance, develop indigenous technological capacity, and protect citizen data.

"The future of BRICS countries will be written by those who think most clearly, not by those who shout the loudest," she said.

The event was organized by the South African non-governmental organization, the South African BRICS Youth Association, in partnership with Tshwane University of Technology. ■