Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that he was looking forward to arranging bilateral discussions with some of the leaders present during his three-day official visit to South Africa for the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) summit.
The encounter between Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping outside of the Johannesburg summit is the center of attention. The two leaders got together on Tuesday at the Leaders’ Retreat with other BRICS leaders.
Modi stated that the people of India have pledged to transform their nation into a developed nation by the year 2047 while speaking at the BRICS Business Forum leaders’ conversation earlier that evening. He continued, “I welcome all of you to join India’s growth path.
“Covid-19 pandemic has taught us the importance of resilient and inclusive supply chains. Mutual trust and transparency is very important to achieve this. We can collectively work towards the welfare of the Global South and make a significant contribution towards that,” he said.
Modi emphasized that India’s GDP will soon reach US$ 5 trillion and that “mission-mode” reforms being carried out by his administration have made conducting business easier. He also stated that India will become the world’s growth engine in the coming years.
He informed the audience that India has the third-largest start-up ecosystem in the world and that there are over 100 unicorns there.
Modi, who landed at the Waterkloof Air Force Base in South Africa, was received by South Africa’s Deputy President Paul Mashatile and was accorded a ceremonial welcome.
“PM’s three-day visit to South Africa entails participation in the 15th BRICS Summit and engagements with leaders of BRICS and invited countries in plurilateral and bilateral settings,” the Ministry of External Affairs’ official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.
Earlier in the day, as he left for the summit, Modi expressed confidence that it would provide a useful opportunity for its members to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development.
In his departure statement, he 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. “I also look forward to holding bilateral meetings with some of the leaders present in Johannesburg,” he said.
“Leaving for South Africa to take part in the BRICS Summit being held in Johannesburg. I 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,” he tweeted.
Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa, invited Modi to visit the city from August 22 to 24. After three years of online meetings, the BRICS summit is now taking place in person.
Modi will take part in the BRICS leaders’ summit plenary sessions on Wednesday. There will be a closed plenary session that will be focused on intra-BRICS issues, multilateral system reform, and counterterrorism.
He will take part on Thursday in a special gathering called “BRICS – Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue” that will feature other nations that South Africa has invited and is being organized following the summit. The issues and goals of the Global South will be explored throughout these sessions, with a focus on collaboration with Africa.
On August 25, Modi will travel to Athens at the invitation of his Greece counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis. “I have the honour to be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece after 40 years,” he said in his departure statement.
“Contacts between our two civilisations 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.
Our two nations have been cooperating in a variety of fields, including trade and investment, defense, and cultural and interpersonal ties, he said. In addition to beginning a new chapter in the complex relationship, Modi expressed excitement about traveling to Greece and engaging with the local Indian community.
