New Delhi, August 22 (Press Ki Taquat)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday left for South Africa to attend the 15th BRICS Summit and hold several bilaterals, including an expected one with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
In his departure statement, the PM was confident that the BRICS Summit would provide a useful opportunity for its members to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development.
“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 added.
This summit would provide a useful opportunity for BRICS to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development, 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,’’ PM Modi posted on X.
The PM said he was also looking forward to interacting with leaders of several 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.
The PM is visiting Johannesburg from August 22 to 24. It will be the first in-person BRICS Summit comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, since 2019.
The PM will then travel to Athens which, he noted, would 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.
Cooperation in diverse sectors such as trade and investment, defence, and cultural and people-to-people contacts has been bringing our two countries closer, he added. He looked forward to visiting Greece and opening a new chapter in “our multifaceted relationship”, saying he would also interact with the Indian community there.
