PM Modi leaves for South Africa to attend BRICS Summit

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday left for South Africa to attend the 15th BRICS Summit at the invitation of the country's president Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa. BRICS is a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The BRICS summit will be held from August 22-24. This is PM Modi's third visit to South Africa and the trip marks the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between India and South Africa.

Ahead of his departure, Modi said that BRICS has been actively engaged in fostering a robust collaboration agenda across diverse sectors, and serves as a platform to deliberate upon issues of significance for the entire Global South.

PM Modi said that he looks forward to holding bilateral meetings with "some of the leaders present in Johannesburg".

"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,” the PM said in a statement.

The PM in his departure statement ahead of his visit said: “I am visiting the Republic of South Africa from August 22-24, 2023 at the invitation of Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, to attend the 15th BRICS Summit being held in Johannesburg under the South African Chairmanship.”

The PM further said: “During my stay in Johannesburg, I will also participate in BRICS–Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue event that will be held as part of the BRICS Summit activities. I look forward to interacting with a number of guest countries that have been invited to participate in this event.”

This will be the first in-person BRICS Summit after three consecutive years of virtual meetings owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will join the 15th BRICS Summit virtually while the Russian delegation will be led by foreign minister Sergey Lavrov. He will also participate in a special event with the theme “Brics – Africa outreach and Brics plus dialogue”.

This is being organised after the BRICS Summit and will include dozens of countries, mostly from the African continent, invited by South Africa.

From South Africa, the PM will travel to Athens, Greece on Friday at the invitation of Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis. “This will be my first visit to this ancient land. I have the honour to be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece after 40 years,” the PM said, according to the release.

“Contacts between our two civilizations stretch back over two millennia. In modern times, our ties have been strengthened by shared values of democracy, the rule of law and pluralism. Cooperation in diverse sectors such as trade and investment, defence, and cultural and people-to-people contacts have been bringing our two countries closer,” the PM said on the civilizational ties between India and Greece.

“I look forward to my visit to Greece opening a new chapter in our multifaceted relationship,” he said.