- Thursday, February 27, 2025
Last month, India hosted a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in a virtual format after changing plans to hold it in New Delhi.
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi may virtually take part in the upcoming BRICS summit in South Africa scheduled later this month instead of attending in person, Reuters reported citing sources in New Delhi.
While India’s external affairs ministry declined to comment, the prime minister’s office also did not respond when Reuters asked it whether Modi would travel to the African country for the August 22-24 gathering of leaders from the bloc that also includes China, Brazil and Russia, besides India and South Africa. As prime minister, Modi has visited South Africa twice so far — in 2016 and 2018.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has already said that he will be a virtual participant at the summit.
Last month, India hosted a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in a virtual format after changing plans to hold it in New Delhi. Chinese president Xi Jinping and Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif also took part in that event.
Expansion of the BRICS grouping has emerged as a big debate of late with countries such as China and Russia keen on it, while India and Brazil have expressed reservations.
According to the Reuters report, one official in the Indian government said there is a rising discomfort in New Delhi about being part of blocs such as BRICS and SCO which China dominates, particularly since India has gone closer to the US and other western nations.
Relations between India and China have plummeted following a clash on their disputed Himalayan border in June 2020 in which soldiers were killed on both sides.
