- Thursday, February 27, 2025
From South Africa, Modi will travel to Athens, Greece on August 25 at the invitation of his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (22) left for Johannesburg in South Africa to take part in the 15th BRICS summit, expressing confidence that the occasion will create a useful opportunity for the member states to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development.
In his departure statement, he said BRICS (an acronym for member states Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) has been pursuing a strong cooperation agenda across various sectors.
Leaving for South Africa to take part in the BRICS Summit being held in Johannesburg. I will also take part in the BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue events. The Summit will give the platform to discuss issues of concern for the Global South and other areas of…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 22, 2023
“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, according to a release from the prime minister’s office.
“This Summit will provide a useful opportunity for BRICS to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development,” he said.
Later, he posted on X, formerly Twitter, “Leaving for South Africa to take part in the BRICS Summit being held in Johannesburg. I will also take part in the BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue events. The Summit will give the platform to discuss issues of concern for the Global South and other areas of development.”
Modi said in the statement that 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.
It will be the first in-person summit of the grouping since 2019.
It will also be Modi’s third visit to South Africa as the prime minister, after 2016 and 2018.
From South Africa, Modi will travel to Athens, Greece on August 25 at the invitation of his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis, he noted that this will be his first visit to this ancient land.
On 25th August I will be visiting Greece, a nation with whom India has civilisational contacts for centuries. I look forward to talks with @PrimeministerGR Kyriakos Mitsotakis. I will also be interacting with the Indian community there.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 22, 2023
“I have the honour to be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece after 40 years,” he said.
Contacts between our two civilizations stretch back over two millennia and, in modern times, our ties have been strengthened by shared values of democracy, rule of law and pluralism, he said. Cooperation in diverse sectors such as trade and investment, defence, and cultural and people-to-people contacts have been bringing our two countries closer, he added.
He looked forward to visiting Greece and opening a new chapter in our multifaceted relationship, Modi said, adding that he will also be interacting with the Indian community there.
(With PTI inputs)
