Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at the 15th BRICS Summit, supported the expansion of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) grouping. At the plenary session on August 23, PM Modi said, “India fully supports the expansion of the BRICS membership and welcomes moving forward with consensus in this.” The summit is being held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from August 22–24.
During his address, PM Modi spoke on various issues and also called for setting defined timelines for UNSC reforms. He urged the leaders to send a global message of unity, not polarisation.
Notably, PM Modi also offered the Indian Digital Public Infrastructure—the Indian stack to BRICS partners. “To make BRICS a future-ready organisation, we have to make our societies future-ready. Technology will play an important role in this,” suggested PM Modi. He highlighted the country’s recent innovations, such as Bhashini, which is an AI-based language platform and is being used in India to remove language barriers.
Describing the role BRICS is set to play in the coming years, PM Modi said, “After seven years, we can say that BRICS will be breaking barriers, revitalising economies, inspiring innovation, creating opportunities, and shaping the future.”
The Prime Minister said the BRICS embarked on a long and amazing journey in the last two decades and highlighted how the New Development Bank of the grouping is playing an important role in carrying forward developmental activities in the Global South.
Further, the leaders held productive discussions, including on global economic recovery, partnerships with Africa and the Global South, and reviewed the progress made on the BRICS agenda so far.
Earlier, PM Modi also held a bilateral meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and discussed wide range of issues in trade, defence, and investment domains.
Following his engagements in Johannesburg relating to the BRICS Summit, the Prime Minister will travel to Greece for an official visit on August 25th. This will be the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Greece in 40 years.