Modi arrives in South Africa to attend 15th BRICS summit

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in South Africa on Tuesday (August 22) on a three-day official visit during which he will attend the 15th BRICS summit and hold bilateral meetings with a number of world leaders.

Modi is visiting the African country from August 22 to 24 at the invitation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. South Africa is hosting the first in-person summit of BRICS comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, since 2019.

Earlier in his departure statement in New Delhi, Modi said BRICS has been pursuing 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.

This summit will provide a useful opportunity for BRICS to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development, he said.

Modi posted on X that he will also take part in the BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue events. The Summit will give the platform to discuss issues of concern for the Global South and other areas of development.

The BRICS bloc — comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — brings together five of the largest developing countries of the world, representing 41% of the global population, 24% of the global GDP, and 16% of the global trade.

Over 20 heads of state from Africa and the Middle East have also been invited to attend. A number of them have applied to become members of BRICS, which is one of the matters on the agenda for the Summit.

Modi said in the statement that he looked forward to interacting with a number of guest countries that have been invited to participate in this event.

"I also look forward to holding bilateral meetings with some of the Leaders present in Johannesburg," he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to attend the BRICS summit virtually due to him facing possible arrest in terms of an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant if he lands in South Africa.

From South Africa, the Prime Minister will travel to Greece on August 25 at the invitation of his Greece counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis. It will be his first visit to this ancient land. "I have the honour to be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece after 40 years," he said.

Contacts between our two civilizations stretch back over two millennia and, in modern times, our ties have been strengthened by shared values of democracy, rule of law and pluralism, he said.

Cooperation in diverse sectors such as trade and investment, defence, and cultural and people-to-people contacts have been bringing our two countries closer, he added.

He looked forward to visiting Greece and opening a new chapter in our multifaceted relationship, Mr. Modi said, adding that he will also be interacting with the Indian community there.