BRICS Summit: PM Modi, SA President hold bilateral talks
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in Johannesburg for the 15th BRICS Summit, on Wednesday held a bilateral meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa ahead of the five-nation group’s first in-person event after 2020.
The two leaders reviewed the progress made in bilateral ties, and exchanged views on regional and multilateral issues and on ways to work jointly to strengthen the voice of the Global South, officials said.
“Both leaders reviewed the progress made in bilateral relations between the two countries and expressed satisfaction at the progress achieved in various fields including defense, agriculture, trade and investment, health, conservation, and people-to-people ties,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a press release.
They also exchanged views on continued coordination in multilateral bodies and regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest.
President Ramaphosa expressed full support for India’s G-20 presidency and appreciated New Delhi’s initiative for giving the African Union full membership of the group, the release said, adding that the President looked forward to visiting New Delhi for the G-20 Summit next month.
The G-20 Summit will be held in New Delhi from September 8 to 10. It will be the first-ever G-20 Summit to be held in South Asia.
PM Modi congratulated President Ramaphosa on the successful hosting of the BRICS Summit and accepted the President’s invitation to pay a state visit to South Africa at a mutually convenient date, the release said.
On Tuesday, while addressing the BRICS Business Forum in Johannesburg, PM Modi said despite turbulence in the global economic situation, India is the fastest-growing major economy in the world. Soon, it will be a USD 5 trillion economy.
“There is no doubt that India will become the growth engine for the world in coming years”, he said while recalling reforms undertaken by his government in the past nine years.
“This is because India turned the pandemic into an opportunity to carry out economic reforms. Through our reforms in mission mode, the ease of business has improved in India”, PM Modi said.
“We have reduced compliance burden, replaced the red tape with red carpet and boosted investors’ confidence by implementing GST along with Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code”, he told the gathering.
He said the government had opened defense and space sectors for private players, and added that there is a major focus on public service delivery and good governance.
“With the help of technology, India has leaped forward in the field of financial inclusion. Rural women have been the biggest beneficiaries. With a single click, crores of people in India are benefitting from direct transfer benefits, which total more than USD 360 billion.”
“It has enhanced transparency in service delivery, thereby reducing corruption and the role of middlemen”, he added.
India has the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem with over 100 unicorns, PM Modi said.
The Indian PM, who is on a three-day visit to South Africa and Greece, reached Johannesburg on Tuesday at the invitation of President Ramaphosa to attend the 15th BRICS Summit being held under the South African Chairmanship from August 22 to 24.
“Had an excellent meeting with President @CyrilRamaphosa,” PM Modi tweeted after the bilateral meeting held ahead of the BRICS Summit.
“We discussed a wide range of issues aimed at deepening India-South Africa relations. Trade, defense, and investment linkages featured prominently in our discussions. We will keep working together to strengthen the voice of the Global South as well,” he said and shared some photographs of the meeting.
The Global South is generally seen as home to Brazil, India, Indonesia, and China, which, along with Nigeria and Mexico, are the largest southern states in terms of land area and population.
“BRICS has been pursuing a strong cooperation agenda across various sectors. We value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system,” PM Modi said in New Delhi before departing for Johannesburg on Tuesday.
The Summit, he said, will provide a useful opportunity for BRICS to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development.
This is the first in-person BRICS Summit after three consecutive years of virtual meetings because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
On Tuesday, Modi attended the Leaders’ Retreat along with his counterparts from China, South Africa, and Brazil.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has not traveled to Johannesburg for the annual summit of the BRICS nations comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
“The Retreat which took place in closed format, was an opportunity for the leaders to discuss global developments and ways for leveraging the BRICS platform to find solutions to global challenges,” the MEA said.
During his stay in Johannesburg, PM Modi will also participate in BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue events that will be held as part of the BRICS Summit activities. He will also meet members of the Indian Diaspora.
