15th BRICS Summit will help identify future areas of cooperation, says PM Modi

The 15th BRICS Summit will provide a useful opportunity for the grouping to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday (August 22, 2023) as he departed for South Africa to attend the meet.

Prime Minister Modi is visiting South Africa from August 22-24, 2023 at the invitation President Cyril Ramaphosa, to attend the 15th BRICS Summit being held in Johannesburg under the South African Chairmanship.

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

BRICS has been pursuing a strong cooperation agenda across various sectors, Prime Minister Modi said in his departure statement. "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. This Summit will provide a useful opportunity for BRICS to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development," he noted.

During his stay in Johannesburg, he will also participate in BRICS–Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue event that will be held as part of the BRICS Summit activities, Prime Minister Modi said. "I look forward to interacting with a number of guest countries that have been invited to participate in this event," he added.

Prime Minister Modi said he also looked forward to holding bilateral meetings with some of the leaders present in Johannesburg.

Addressing a special media briefing in New Delhi on Monday (August 21, 2023), Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra highlighted the importance that India attaches to the BRICS grouping and said it is considered as an important expression of global multipolarity.

"For us, it is also a platform that can address a number of global challenges and also by contributing to building a fairer, inclusive and open international architecture with sustainable development and economic growth at its core," he pointed out.

The theme of the BRICS Summit this year is ‘BRICS and Africa – Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism’.

For the 15th BRICS Summit, a business delegation from India is also travelling to South Africa to attend the BRICS Business Tracks meetings and also the meetings of the BRICS Business Council, BRICS Women Business Alliance and the BRICS Business Forum.

Prime Minister Modi had last visited South Africa in July 2018 for the 10th BRICS Summit, and earlier in July 2016 for a bilateral visit. South African President Ramaphosa had visited India in January 2019, when he was also the chief guest for the 70th Republic Day celebrations. The two leaders had also met in June 2022 in Germany, on the sidelines of the G7 Outreach Summit.