Brics Summit: Modi meets South African president, addresses plenary session

During the Plenary Session I of the summit, PM Modi said that Brics (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) embarked on a long and amazing journey in the last two decades

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday at the 15th Brics (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.

PM Modi also delivered his remarks during the plenary session of the Brics Summit after the leaders of the grouping joined for a group photo.

During the Plenary Session I of the summit, PM Modi said that Brics embarked on a long and amazing journey in the last two decades.

He said the countries should consider establishing a Brics space exploration consortium.

"To give a new path to the Brics agenda, India had put forth suggestions on issues such as railway research network, close cooperation between MSMEs, online Brics database and startup firms. I am happy that a lot of progress was made on these issues," he added.

Arindam Bagchi, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson, tweeted that the two leaders had a "warm and productive meeting".

"As (India and South Africa) celebrate 30 years of diplomatic relations this year, the two leaders took stock of bilateral cooperation including in areas of defence, agriculture, trade and investment, health, conservation, and people-to-people ties," Bagchi said.

During the summit, India took the lead in forging consensus on selecting new members in the grouping.

As many as 23 countries submitted their applications to join the Brics grouping.

Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said at a briefing in New Delhi that Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Argentina emerged as strong contenders for the membership.

Russian President Vladimir Putin joined virtually due to the arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court.

In a pre-recorded speech, Putin spoke about the Ukraine war and Russia's relationship with the West.

The bloc is holding its first in-person meeting since the Covid-19 pandemic. Around 1,200 delegates from the five Brics nations and dozens of other developing countries are expected in Johannesburg, including more than 40 heads of state.