Darshita Jain, Pune
The South African government has confirmed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the upcoming BRICS Summit in person beginning on August 22. The South African government has dismissed some media reports as “rumours” that the Indian leader won’t attend the gathering of the five-nation grouping.
Pandor said as she confirmed Modi’s presence and quoted, “I spoke with several colleagues in government and outside, and everyone was taken aback by this rumor. I believe someone is trying to sabotage our Summit by fabricating stories that suggest the summit will fail.”
In the same interview, Pandor stated that India’s Prime Minister has never said that he will not attend the Summit. I continue to keep in touch with Foreign Minister Jaishankar on a daily basis. He’s never said anything like that. Our sherpas are in contact, but they have never said anything. So we’ve all been looking for the needle in the haystack that started this rumor.
The BRICS bloc, which comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, is made up of five of the major developing countries in the world. Together, they account for 16% of global trade and 24% of the world’s GDP.
Naledi Pandor, South Africa’s minister of international relations and cooperation, gave a press briefing on the country’s summit preparations on Monday. She mentioned that the presidents of Brazil, China, India, and the nation that will be hosting South Africa will take part in a variety of discussions. Due to a warrant from the International Criminal Court that would have required South Africa to detain him if he attended in person, Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part digitally.
The Ministry of External Affairs stated last week in New Delhi that Prime Minister Modi will travel to Johannesburg for the BRICS Summit. President Cyril Ramaphosa (Cyril) has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to South Africa’s BRICS Summit, which will be held on August 22–24, 2023, and has briefed him on the preparations for the event. PM Narendra Modi gladly accepted the invitation and expressed his excitement about his visit to Johannesburg to participate in the summit, according to the MEA in a press release issued on August 3rd following a phone conversation between the two leaders.
All BRICS Business Councils are expected to bring large delegations to South Africa to participate in sector-focused visits. As per Pandor’s statement, the BRICS leaders will engage in discussions regarding the possibilities of harnessing the complete potential of BRICS to achieve inclusive global recovery and promote sustainable development.
The Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition, in collaboration with the BRICS Business Council, has scheduled a comprehensive BRICS Business programme from August 19 to 23. According to the minister, the goal of this event is to promote economic growth, foster collaboration, attract investment, and highlight opportunities in South Africa, Africa as a continent, and all BRICS countries.
Pandora mentioned that during the plenary session, the leaders’ national statements will be succeeded by reports delivered by the President of the New Development Bank (NDB) and representatives from the BRICS Business Alliance and BRICS Women’s Business Alliance. It will be the first time these reports will be presented directly to the BRICS leaders.
The minister spoke about how the NDB was founded in 2015 to act as a catalyst for providing financial assistance to emerging markets and developing countries for infrastructure and sustainable development.
Pandor also noted that in late 2021, the NDB expanded its membership to include Bangladesh, Egypt, the UAE, and Uruguay, further establishing the Bank as a preferred global financing mechanism for emerging markets and developing countries. Moreover, the minister emphasised the importance of the BRICS countries in the global recovery process. The membership’s stated goals include increasing intra-BRICS trade, investment, tourism, capacity-building, and technology transfer in order to address the challenges of inequality, poverty, and unemployment.