PM Modi said the BRICS summit will provide a useful opportunity for its members to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday left for South Africa’s Johannesburg to attend the 15th edition of the BRICS summit. Ahead of the three-day BRICS summit, PM Modi said the event will provide a useful opportunity for its members to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development. It will be the first in-person summit of BRICS comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, since 2019. From South Africa, PM Modi he will travel to Athens, Greece on August 25 at the invitation of his Greece counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis, he noted that this will be his first visit to this ancient land.
PM Modi At BRICS Summit 2023: What’s On Agenda?
Leaders of the BRICS nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – are due to open a summit in Johannesburg on Tuesday where they will weigh expanding membership as some members push to forge the bloc into a counterweight to the West.
- Review institutional development: PM Narendra Modi said 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,” he said. This summit will provide a useful opportunity for BRICS to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development, he said.
- Expansion of BRICS bloc: Expansion has long been a goal of bloc heavyweight China, which hopes that broader membership will lend clout to a grouping already home to some 40% of the world’s population and a quarter of global GDP. Heightened global tensions provoked by the Ukraine war and a growing rivalry between China and the United States have added urgency to a drive to strengthen the bloc, which has at times suffered from internal divisions and a lack of coherent vision. “An expanded BRICS will represent a diverse group of nations with different political systems that share a common desire to have a more balanced global order,” South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, said in an address ahead of the meetings, according to a report by news agency Reuters.
- Common currency on cards? Boosting the use of member states’ local currencies is also on the agenda. South African summit organisers, however, say there will be no discussions of a BRICS currency, an idea floated by Brazil earlier this year as an alternative to dollar-dependence.
- India vs China: India, which is wary of Chinese dominance and has warned against rushing expansion, has “positive intent and an open mind”, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said, the Reuters report stated. Brazil, meanwhile, is concerned that growing BRICS will dilute its influence. While a potential BRICS enlargement remains up in the air, the bloc’s pledge to become a champion of the developing “Global South” and offer an alternative to a world order dominated by wealthy Western nations is already finding resonance.
What Is BRIC
The acronym BRIC, which did not initially include South Africa, was coined in 2001 by then Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O’Neill in a research paper that underlined the growth potential of Brazil, Russia, India and China. The bloc was founded as an informal club in 2009 to provide a platform for its members to challenge a world order dominated by the United States and its Western allies.
Its creation was initiated by Russia. The group is not a formal multilateral organisation like the United Nations, World Bank or the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The heads of state and government of the member nations convene annually with each nation taking up a one-year rotating chairmanship of the group.
Who Are The Members Of BRICS
Brazil, Russia, India, and China are the founding members. South Africa, the smallest member in terms of economic clout and population, was the first beneficiary of an expansion of the bloc in 2010 when the grouping became known as BRICS. Together the countries account for more than 40 per cent of the world population and a quarter of the global economy.
Which Nations Want To Join BRICS And Why
Over 40 countries, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Algeria, Bolivia, Indonesia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Comoros, Gabon, and Kazakhstan have expressed interest in joining the forum, according to 2023 summit chair South Africa. They view BRICS as an alternative to global bodies viewed as dominated by the traditional Western powers and hope membership will unlock benefits including development finance, and increased trade and investment.
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