Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, whose theme this year is 'BRICS in Africa'. The two leaders are believed to have exchanged views on the international landscape, BRICS cooperation and other issues of mutual interest. PM Modi also met Chinese President Xi Jinping for the third time in nearly four months.
Leaders of the BRICS emerging economies -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- gathered in Johannesburg for a three-day meeting focused on the threat of a US-led global trade war. US President Donald Trump's hardening stance has compounded fears of an all-out trade war after he slapped levies on goods from China worth tens of billions of dollars and imposed tariffs on other international imports.
The prime minister is on a 3-nation tour to Africa and has held delegation level talks in Uganda as well as Rwanda. PM Modi became the first Indian prime minister to visit Rwanda, where he gifted 200 cows for an economic development project of the East African nation. He also announced that India will soon open its mission in Rwanda. His visit to Uganda was the first bilateral tour by an Indian prime minister since 1997.
He reached South Africa from Uganda's capital Kampala on Wednesday where he was welcomed by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on his arrival.
Here are the Highlights of the BRICS Summit in South Africa:
PM Narendra Modi departs from Air Force Base Waterkloof in Johannesburg. He was in Johannesburg to attend the BRICS summit. #SouthAfrica pic.twitter.com/LwaRF6wspW
- ANI (@ANI) July 27, 2018
PM @narendramodi at BRICS Outreach Dialogue with Africa: Today, India has offered 180 Lines of Credit worth $11 bn in more than 40 countries in Africa. Full speech at https://t.co/fwy5s5V9Su pic.twitter.com/3zlKf8yMVl
- Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) July 27, 2018
PM @narendramodi with other #BRICS leaders at the 'Special Retreat Session'. PM: I am convinced that our innovative ideas and effective steps would help to strengthen BRICS cooperation and set a future direction. #IndiaatBRICS pic.twitter.com/42zkIB558q
- Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) July 27, 2018
Continuing the series of bilateral meetings on the margins of BRICS Summit in South Africa, PM @narendramodi held productive talks with President Xi Jinping of China, President Vladimir Putin of Russia, President @mauriciomacri of Argentina and President João Lourenço of Angola. pic.twitter.com/4jKThAOcIV
- narendramodi_in (@narendramodi_in) July 27, 2018
Saluting the enduring legacy of Mahatma and Mandela! PM @narendramodi and South African President @CyrilRamaphosa jointly released a stamp commemorating the two iconic personalities. pic.twitter.com/bYbHUEKwXO
- Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) July 26, 2018
PM @narendramodi and President @CyrilRamaphosa discussed expansion of our relationship in trade & investment, agriculture and food processing, IT, defence and people-to-people contacts. pic.twitter.com/l5NORbbJJl
- Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) July 26, 2018
Kicking off a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of #BRICS! PM @narendramodi meets the host South African President @CyrilRamaphosa. Celebrating 21 years of strategic partnership, India & South Africa are proud inheritors of legacies of Mahatma Gandhi & Nelson Mandela. pic.twitter.com/LQo8EGrKb4
- Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) July 26, 2018
Leaving a lasting impression!@PM @narendramodi and other #BRICS leaders imparting their hand impression on clay in a symbolic demonstration of our connect to the Cradle of Humankind at Maropeng. pic.twitter.com/lFZMi73Al7
- Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) July 26, 2018
Some points made by PM Modi in his speech:
Necessary to prepare our youth for the future
Both men and women, rich and poor must have access to technical higher education
We need to manage globalization and migration by better multilateral cooperation
#WATCH Live from Johannesburg: PM Modi speaking at BRICS Summit https://t.co/jMnOuQvR3q
- ANI (@ANI) July 26, 2018
Reaffirming our commitment to reformed multilateralism, international trade and rules-based world order. PM @narendramodi presented the Country Statement of India at the #BRICS Leaders' Closed Session at the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg. #IndiaatBRICS pic.twitter.com/qQCcnHJvdv
- Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) July 26, 2018
Good evening South Africa! PM @narendramodi arrives at Waterkloof air base to a warm welcome. PM will attend the 10th #BRICS Summit and related meetings in #Johannesburg and will have several bilateral meetings on the sidelines. #IndiaatBRICS pic.twitter.com/FFtZvpe67f
- Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) July 25, 2018
BRICS is an acronym for the grouping of the world's leading emerging economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
The BRICS Leaders' Summit is convened annually with discussions representing spheres of political and socio-economic coordination, in which member countries have identified several business opportunities, economic complementarities and areas of cooperation.
The Chairship of the forum is rotated annually among the members, in accordance with the acronym B-R-I-C-S. Over and above the summit, BRICS cooperation in the past decade has expanded to include an annual programme of over 100 sectoral meetings. Cooperation among members is predicated on three levels or "tracks" of interaction, namely:
Track I: Formal diplomatic engagement between the national governments
Track II: Engagement through government-affiliated institutions, e.g. state-owned enterprises and business councils
Track III: Civil society and "people-to-people" engagement.
The bloc offers a unique opportunity for BRICS countries to extend and advance their cooperation in ways that meaningfully promote their economic development agendas as well as that of other developing countries.
South Africa assumed the rotational Chairship of BRICS from 1 January to 31 December 2018. The 2018 Summit will be a seminal milestone for BRICS cooperation, as it represents a decade of BRICS cooperation at the highest diplomatic level.
(Source: http://www.brics2018.org.za/)
