PM Modi
During his three-day official visit to South Africa for the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that he was looking forward to setting up bilateral conversations with some of the current leaders.
The focus of interest is the meeting between Modi and the president of China, Xi Jinping, outside the Johannesburg conference. The two leaders and other BRICS leaders met on Tuesday at the Leaders’ Retreat.
Speaking at the BRICS Business Forum leaders’ dialogue earlier in the evening, Modi said the people of India have made a commitment to make it a developed country by 2047. “I invite all of you to participate in India’s development journey,” he said.
“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.
Stressing that India will become a US$ 5-trillion economy soon, Modi said India will become the growth engine for the world in the coming years, and the ease of doing business has improved with “mission-mode” reforms being undertaken by his government.
He told the gathering that India has the world’s third-largest start-up ecosystem and there are over 100 unicorns in the country.
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.
Modi is visiting the South African city from August 22 to 24, at the invitation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. The BRICS summit is being held in-person this time, after three years of virtual meetings.
On Wednesday, Modi will participate in the plenary sessions of the BRICS leaders’ summit — there will be a closed plenary session which will focus on intra-BRICS issues, reform of the multilateral system and counter-terrorism.
On Thursday, he will participate in a special event, “BRICS – Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue”, being organised after the summit, which will include other countries invited by South Africa. During these sessions, the concerns and priorities of the Global South will be discussed, where the focus will be on partnership with Africa.
Modi will visit Athens on August 25 at the request of his Greek colleague, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. In his remarks before leaving, he remarked, “I have the honor of being the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece in 40 years.
He added that since our two civilisations have been in contact for more than two thousand years, our shared ideas of democracy, the rule of law, and pluralism have strengthened our ties in recent times.
He claimed that collaboration between our two countries has been bringing them closer together in a number of areas, including trade and investment, defense, and cross-cultural exchanges. In addition to beginning a new chapter in their complicated relationship, Modi expressed excitement about traveling to Greece and meeting with the local Indian community.
