On Tuesday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the annual summit of the five-nation grouping BRICS on June 23 and 24 following an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping. It is China that hosts the summit as the chair of the group for the current year.
A group of five developing countries representing 41 percent of the world’s population, 24 percent of the world’s GDP, and 16 percent of global trade, the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) is the world’s largest group of developing countries.
Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia, Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, and Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa are expected to attend the summit.
The MEA said in a statement, “At the invitation of President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be attending the 14th BRICS Summit hosted by China in virtual format on June 23 and 24. This includes a high-level dialogue on global development with guest countries on June 24”.
Other topics to be discussed include reform of the multilateral system, combating the COVID-19 pandemic, and global economic recovery. MEA said Mr. Modi will participate in the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum on Wednesday via a recorded keynote speech.
