Following a day of deliberations and discussions during the BRICS Summit, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed a press conference alongside fellow world leaders and invited six new countries to join the bloc.
Ramaphosa, addressing a press conference alongside PM Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazil's Lula Da Silva and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and UAE have been invited to join as part of the expansion's first phase.
"We've reached an agreement to invite Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and UAE to become full members of BRICS. The membership will come into effect from January 2024," Ramaphosa said.
"This summit reaffirmed the importance of BRICS, people-to-people exchanges & enhancing friendship & cooperation...We adopted the Johannesburg two declarations which reflect key BRICS messages on matters of global economic, financial & political importance. It demonstrates the shared values & common interests that underlie our mutually beneficial cooperation as the five BRICS countries..."South African President Cyril Ramaphosa
PM Modi, who shared the dias with fellow BRICS leaders, reaffirmed India's support for expansion of BRICS and added that "India has always believed that adding new members will strengthen BRICS as an organisation..."
Significantly, the announcement does not invite Pakistan to join the alliance, even though XI Jinping perceived attempt and argument that the BRICS coalition should expand its membership to include more developing nations.
However, New Delhi had staunchly opposed the inclusion, amid fears that it will dilute the group's core objectives and the consensus built among its existing members.
PM Modi also mentioned India's successful Chandrayaan-3 moon mission and said, "It is a matter of pride for us that this achievement is being accepted as an achievement for all of humanity."
Details From Bilateral Talks: China, Senegal and More
PM Modi held a bilateral with Abiy Ahmed, the PM of Ethiopia on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, just a few moments after Ethiopia was officially welcomed to the BRICS alliance. The pair discussed ways to boost ties in sectors like trade, defence and people to people relations.
A bilateral was also held with the President of Senegal Macky Sall and President Raisi of Iran.
With the former, PM Modi deliberated on sectors like energy, infrastructure, defence and more in our meeting, while Modi's meeting with Raisi discussed ways to deepen trade and cultural cooperation between India and Iran.
Most importantly, PM Modi also had a chance to exchange pleasantries and have a brief conversation with Xi Jinping, where Modi "highlighted India's concerns at the unresolved issues along the LAC in the western sector of the India-China border areas."
Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said, "PM underlined that the maintenance of peace and tranquility in the border areas and observing and respecting the LAC are essential for the normalisation of the India-China relationship. In this regard, the two leaders agreed to direct their relevant officials to intensify efforts at expeditious disengagement and de-escalation."
Key Points from PM Modi's BRICS Africa Outreach
Addressing the BRICS - Africa outreach, which is being organised after the summit and being attended from by dozens of predominantly African countries, PM Modi said, "I believe that BRICS nations and friendly nations present here can contribute to strengthening a multipolar world.."
Moreover, Modi added:
"Around 4,400 Indian peacekeepers which also include women are deployed in Africa to restore peace. We are working with Africa in the fight against terrorism & piracy."
Here are other important highlights from the address:
"India has given high importance to relations with Africa. We have opened 16 new missions in Africa. Today, India is Africa's fourth largest trade partner and the fifth largest investor."
“We believe that giving importance to them is the need of the current generation. We have also decided on the expansion of BRICS. We welcome all new partner countries. It is another step towards making the global institutions and forums competitive."
"This is also the core principle of our G20 presidency. To bring the concerns of the Global South into the mainstream, we have invited three African nations and several developing nations as guest countries. India has also put forward the proposal of giving permanent G20 membership to the African Union."
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