New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in South Africa’s Johannesburg Tuesday evening to attend the 15th BRICS summit, one he hopes will provide a useful opportunity for its members to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development.
VIDEO | PM Modi receives a ceremonial welcome as he arrives at Waterkloof Air Force Base in South Africa.
(Source: Third Party) pic.twitter.com/go7fgjCr8n
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 22, 2023
In his departure statement Tuesday morning, Modi said the grouping has pursued a strong cooperation agenda across various sectors.
“We value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system,” he said.
Modi is visiting the South African city from 22 to 24 August at the invitation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
He is expected to hold bilateral meetings with the leaders present, and one with Chinese Premier Xi Jinping is likely.
The Prime Minister will participate in the “BRICS–Africa Outreach” and the “BRICS Plus Dialogue” events that will be held as part of the summit activities, and is also “looking forward to interacting with several guest countries that have been invited to participate”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted under an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, will join the summit virtually.
This is the first in-person summit of the BRICS grouping – comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – since 2019.
From South Africa, Modi will travel to Athens, Greece on 25 August at the invitation of his counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis. This will be his first visit to Greece and one by an Indian Prime Minister in 40 years.
On Greece, Modi said the cooperation in diverse sectors such as trade and investment, defence, and cultural and people-to-people contacts had brought the two countries closer.
Meanwhile, at the BRICS summit, it is likely that leaders will discuss the expansion of the bloc, with Xi Jinping being the idea’s strongest proponent.
South Africa is hosting Jinping for a three-day state visit, and ahead of meetings with the grouping’s other leaders, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the two countries had “similar views” regarding expansion.
“We share your view President Xi that BRICS is a vitally important forum which plays an important role in the reform of global governance and in the promotion of multilateralism and cooperation throughout the world,” he said, as reported by Reuters.
Shortly after his arrival, Xi said: “I am confident that the upcoming summit will be an important milestone in the development of the BRICS mechanism.”
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