Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, from August 22–24. Following the BRICS summit, PM Modi will proceed to Greece on August 25 for a visit at the invitation of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece.
Notably, this will be the first in-person BRICS Summit since 2019. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) also informed that the Prime Minister will hold bilateral meetings with some of the leaders present in Johannesburg.
In a statement, MEA said, “The Summit will provide an opportunity to review progress of the initiatives launched by the grouping and identify future areas of activity.” In addition, PM Modi will also be participating in a special event called “BRICS – Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue ”. Both of these events will witness the participation of other non-countries invited by South Africa.
On August 18, MEA informed that PM Modi and Iran’s President, Dr. Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, held a telephone conversation. The MEA, in a statement, said, “Two leaders discussed cooperation at multilateral forums, including expansion of BRICS, and looked forward to their meeting on the margins of forthcoming BRICS summit in South Africa.”
First visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Greece in 40 years
PM Modi’s visit to Greece will be the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Greece in 40 years. Further, the Prime Minister will hold talks with his Greek counterpart, Prime Minister Mitsotakis, to discuss ways to further deepen the relationship between the countries.
India and Greece enjoy civilizational ties, which have strengthened in recent years through cooperation in areas like maritime transport, defence, trade and investments and people-to-people ties. On his visit to Greece, PM Modi will also interact with business leaders from both countries as well as with the Indian community in Greece.