15th BRICS Summit, Day-2: As the 15th BRICS Summit begins its second day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to meet with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in a bilateral meeting on Wednesday.
Later in the day, open and closed plenary sessions will be held in Johannesburg, followed by a cultural performance and a banquet meal hosted by President Ramaphosa.
The BRICS Business Forum Leaders’ Dialogue was held on the first day of the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg. During this, Prime Minister Modi underscored India’s path to become a $5 trillion economy, as well as its role as a future global economic engine.
PM Modi emphasised the importance of mutual trust and transparency, particularly in the Global South. Ramaphosa responded by emphasising the potential for BRICS countries to contribute to Africa’s growth story, citing its urbanised and digitally connected youth population, which can create a stable workforce.
Following the Business Forum, PM Modi attended the BRICS Leaders Retreat in Johannesburg at Summer Place. This gathering allowed BRICS leaders, including Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, China’s President Xi Jinping, and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, to discuss global developments and strategize on how to effectively use the BRICS platform to address global challenges.
PM Modi was greeted ceremoniously at Waterkloof Air Force Base upon his arrival in South Africa. The Indian diaspora greeted him with chants of ‘Vande Mataram’ and traditional ‘dhols’ outside the Sandton Sun Hotel in Johannesburg. Indian women tied ‘Rakhi’ on his wrist as a welcome gesture, and PM Modi also inspected a replica of the under-construction Swaminarayan Temple in Johannesburg, which when completed in 2025 will be the largest Hindu temple in Africa and the Southern Hemisphere.
This is PM Modi’s third trip to South Africa, and it coincides with the 30th anniversary of India-South Africa diplomatic relations. BRICS, an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, is a powerful coalition that is challenging existing institutions and offering a beacon of economic optimism and global development.
