New Delhi: Over days of speculation on whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the BRICS summit in Johannesburg this month, Brazilian President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday over a telephonic conversation invited the Prime Minister to the BRICS Summit being hosted by South Africa on August 22-24 and briefed him on the preparations for the same.
The latter accepted the invitation and conveyed that he looked forward to his visit to Johannesburg to participate in the Summit. The two leaders positively assessed the progress in bilateral cooperation, including in the context of the thirtieth anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations being celebrated in 2023.
President Ramaphosa invited the prime minister to the BRICS Summit being hosted by South Africa on August 22-24 and briefed him on the preparations for the same. PM accepted the invitation and conveyed that he looked forward to his visit to Johannesburg to participate in the Summit.
They also exchanged views on several regional and global issues of mutual interest. President Ramaphosa conveyed his full support for India’s initiatives as part of its ongoing G-20 Presidency and said that he looked forward to visiting India to attend the G-20 Summit.
Meanwhile, China and Russia are keen to discuss the expansion of BRICS and India has reservations about the idea. In the face of growing Chinese influence, there is a little discomfort in New Delhi about being part of groupings like BRICS and SCO where China dominates, especially when India's ties with the US and the West are strengthening.
However, on Thursday, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi dismissed the reports of India's opposition to the expansionism of BRICS and said, "We have seen some baseless speculation that India has reservations against the expansion. This is simply not true".
"We have talked about India's position on expansion and we have clarified our position in the past. As mandated by the leaders last year, BRICS members are internally discussing the guiding principles, standards, criteria, and procedures for the BRICS expansion process based on full consultation and consensus", added Bagchi.
