Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday departed for Johannesburg, South Africa to take part in the 15th BRICS Summit that will be held from August 22-24. The PM released a statement ahead of his visit and said that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South. He added that the summit will provide a useful opportunity for BRICS to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development.
“I am visiting the Republic of South Africa from 22-24 August 2023 at the invitation of H.E Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, to attend the 15th BRICS Summit being held in Johannesburg under the South African Chairmanship,” PM Modi said, as per an official release by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
#WATCH | Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi departs for Johannesburg, South Africa.
He is visiting South Africa from 22-24 August at the invitation of President Cyril Ramaphosa to attend the 15th BRICS Summit being held in Johannesburg under the South African Chairmanship. pic.twitter.com/hRy220autL
— ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2023
The Prime Minister said that BRICS has been pursuing a strong cooperation agenda across various sectors and the members value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South.
“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. This Summit will provide a useful opportunity for BRICS to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development,” PM Modi added, as per an official release by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
Giving information on other programmes that he will be attending, the PM said, “During my stay in Johannesburg, I will also participate in BRICS–Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue event that will be held as part of the BRICS Summit activities. I look forward to interacting with a number of guest countries that have been invited to participate in this event.”
“I also look forward to holding bilateral meetings with some of the Leaders present in Johannesburg,” the Prime Minister said.
On his visit to Greece, the first by an Indian PM after 40 years, the Prime Minister said that he will travel to Athens, Greece on 25 August 2023 at the invitation of his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis. “This will be my first visit to this ancient land. I have the honour to be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece after 40 years,” he said.
Stating that contacts between the civilisations of India and Greece ‘stretch back over two millennia’, the PM said that in modern times, “our ties have been strengthened by shared values of democracy, rule of law and pluralism”.
“Cooperation in diverse sectors such as trade and investment, defence, and cultural and people-to-people contacts have been bringing our two countries closer. I look forward to my visit to Greece opening a new chapter in our multifacted relationship,” the Prime Minister concluded.
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