Brand South Africa, following a four-way pitch, has engaged Hill+Knowlton Strategies for a three-year pact to burnish the company's global reputation and foster business investment.  

The account with H+K's London office is an expansion of the firm's efforts for South Africa focused on the so-called BRICS countries --  South Africa is the "S" in BRICS -- as well as the  United Arab Emirates, Germany, Nigeria and Kenya. 

Nomsa Mazibiko, who directs strategic marketing and communications for BSA, said the government agency has been "impressed with the way H+K has become an extension of our team."

H+K will handle the World Economic Forum in Davos, BRICS Summit and other trade endeavors for the country, which is mulling outreach to Ghana, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

The BRICS countries -- Brazil, Russia, India and China are the others -- met in March, agreeing to establish a development bank for infrastructure projects and a "safety net," among other things. The New York Times said the group is "growing as a challenge to the established world financial order, crafted principally by the World Bank and the International Monetary."