Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in South Africa to take part in the three-day BRICS summit that begins on Wednesday. The visit coincides with rumours of a potential bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the fringes of the summit, as Indian and Chinese troops continue to engage in combat in some areas of eastern Ladakh despite disengaging in others after significant diplomatic and military discussions.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval stressed the significance of continuing efforts to thoroughly address the situation and restore calm in the border areas when he visited Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi last month outside of a BRICS meeting in Johannesburg.
As PM Modi left for the summit, he said he hoped the meeting would provide a useful opportunity for all members to 'identify future areas of cooperation'. "... BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the Global South."
Indian community welcomes PM Modi
PM Modi was greeted by members of the Indian community on his arrival in South Africa for the summit. Asked at a media briefing whether Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold talks on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said that the schedule of prime minister’s bilateral meetings is being finalised.
Beijing pushes for Brics expansion
China, meanwhile, will push the BRICS bloc of emerging markets to become a full scale rival to the G7 as leaders from across the developing world. South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa has invited more than 60 heads of state and government to a summit in Johannesburg which could see several new countries invited to join the bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, said officials familiar with talks.
But in the run-up to the summit New Delhi has clashed with Beijing over the expansion, with tensions mounting over whether BRICS should be a nonaligned club for the economic interests of developing countries, or a political force that openly challenges the west, said people briefed on India and China’s positions. South African officials said 23 countries were interested in joining the bloc.
Argentina, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia are vying to be the first new members since South Africa was invited into the original grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, and China in 2010. Russian president Vladimir Putin will not be there after the International Criminal Court indicted him over the war in Ukraine, but he is likely to attend by video link.