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BRICS Summit 2023 Highlights: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday arrived at Johannesburg in South Africa for his two-day visit to attend the 15th BRICS summit. Before his departure, PM Modi said that the BRICS summit will provide a useful opportunity for its members to identify future areas of cooperation. He said India values that BRICS has become a platform for discussing on issues of concern for the entire Global South. Upon his arrival, PM is scheduled to participate in the BRICS Business Forum leaders’ dialogue and the BRICS leaders’ retreat. The main BRICS summit will be held on August 23.

It will comprise two sessions — one on cooperation within the grouping, reform of the multilateral system and counter-terrorism and the other on global economic recovery, sustainable development goals (SDGs) and priorities of the Global South.

The BRICS nations represent 42 per cent of the world’s population along with a significant 27 per cent of the global GDP. PM Modi is visiting Johannesburg at the invitation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. It will be the first in-person summit of BRICS comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, since 2019. Russian President Vladimir Putin has already decided not to travel to Johannesburg for the summit.

Modi will participate in the BRICS-Africa outreach session and the BRICS-plus dialogue on August 24.

In his departure statement ahead of visiting South Africa to attend the 15th BRICS summit, PM Modi said BRICS will provide a useful opportunity for BRICS to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development.

“We value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system,” he said.

Noting that he will also participate in the ‘BRICSAfrica Outreach’ and ‘BRICS Plus Dialogue’ events that will be held as part of the summit activities, Modi said he looked forward to interacting with a number of guest countries that have been invited to participate in this event.

“I also look forward to holding bilateral meetings with some of the Leaders present in Johannesburg,” he said. Modi is visiting the South African city from August 22 to 24 to attend the 15th BRICS summit at the invitation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.