Modi to attend BRICS summit in Johannesburg

August 03, 2023 22:59

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With the upcoming BRICS summit in South Africa set to discuss admitting new members, India on Thursday dismissed as "baseless" reports that it is opposed to the expansion of the five-nation grouping.

In a telephonic conversation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa that he looked forward to visiting Johannesburg to participate in the BRICS Summit.

"President Ramaphosa invited the prime minister for the BRICS summit being hosted by South Africa on August 22-24, and briefed him on the preparations for the same," the ministry of external affairs said.

"The prime minister accepted the invitation and conveyed that he looked forward to his visit to Johannesburg to participate in the summit," it said following the Modi-Ramaphosa phone talks on Thursday.

The summit scheduled from August 22 to 24 is set to extensively deliberate on expansion of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).

The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Iran, Indonesia and Kazakhstan are among countries which have shown keen interest in joining the grouping.

"We have seen some baseless speculation that India has reservations against the expansion. This is simply not true," MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a media briefing earlier in the day. -- PTI

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