Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated on Tuesday as he departed for the meeting of the leaders of the five-nation bloc that the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg will provide an opportunity to identify future areas of collaboration and examine institutional growth.
PM Modi gets ready for the BRICS
A “new chapter in our multifaceted relationship” will begin with Modi’s upcoming trip to Greece, the first by an Indian PM in 40 years, he added in a statement before leaving.
The summit, which will be held in Johannesburg from August 22–24, is likely to focus heavily on the topic of expanding the Brics (Brazil–Russia–India–China–South Africa) alliance. Additionally, there has been a lot of talk regarding a side-by-side meeting between Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
For the first time in three years, the BRICS will take place from person to person
After three years of online conferences, the BRICS Summit is taking place in person for the first time. According to Modi, the group has followed a robust agenda of cross-sector cooperation. This meeting will give Brics a great chance to pinpoint potential areas of collaboration and assess institutional growth, he said.
He continued by saying that Brics has evolved into a forum for talking about topics important to the Global South, such as the need for multilateral system reform and development imperatives.
Modi, who is in South Africa at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s request, will also take part in the summit’s Brics-Plus Dialogue and Brics-Africa Outreach events.
“I am eager to speak with the many guest nations that have been invited to take part in this event. The PM remarked, without going into specifics about the scheduled bilateral meetings, “I also look forward to arranging bilateral discussions with some of the leaders present in Johannesburg.
military standoff in Ladakh
Following a series of diplomatic and military encounters between the two nations, which have been engaged in a military standoff in the Ladakh sector for more than three years, speculation has grown about a potential meeting between Modi and Xi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.
At the Chushul-Moldo border point, Indian and Chinese corps commanders held their 19th round of discussions on the stalemate along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on August 13–14. This was followed by many rounds of discussions among local commanders, which started on August 18.
On August 25, Modi will depart from South Africa and go to the Greek capital of Athens at the invitation of Kyriakos Mitsotakis. “I’ve never been to this remote location. After 40 years, I have the privilege of being the first Indian prime minister to visit Greece,” he remarked.
“I look forward to my visit to Greece, which will open a new chapter in our multifaceted relationship,” he continued.
