PM Modi leaves for home after concluding three-nation Africa tour

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today left for home after concluding his three-nation Africa tour during which he attended the BRICS Summit in South Africa and he held bilateral meetings with several world leaders including presidents of China and Russia.

"Gratitude to President @CyrilRamaphosa and the people of South Africa for the excellent organisation of the BRICS Summit. The deliberations in the Summit were fruitful. I also got the opportunity to interact with other world leaders and discuss bilateral relations," Modi tweeted.

On the last leg of his trip, Modi visited South Africa where he attended the BRICS summit and also held bilateral meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, South African President Ramaphosa, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other leaders.

BRICS is a grouping of emerging nations formed in 2009 and comprises five countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Representing over 4o per cent of the world's population, the block's growth rates surpass those of the developed countries of the G7.

Earlier, Modi travelled to Rwanda on a two-day visit, becoming the first Indian premier to visit the East African country.

Modi held wide-ranging talks with Rwanda's President Paul Kagame and the two sides signed a defence cooperation agreement. India also extended a USD 200 million lines of credit to Rwanda for its economic development.

From Rwanda, Modi travelled to Uganda - the first bilateral tour by an Indian prime minister since 1997 - where he held wide-ranging talks with President Yoweri Museveni and also addressed the country's Parliament.

India extended two lines of credit worth nearly USD 200 million to Uganda in energy infrastructure, agriculture and dairy sectors.