PM Modi holds ‘productive meeting’ with Ethiopian counterpart

Johannesburg, Aug 24 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held a “productive meeting” with his Ethiopian counterpart Abiy Ahmed Ali on the margins of the BRICS Summit here and the two leaders discussed ways to expand bilateral cooperation in areas like capacity building, trade & investment, defence and agriculture.

Prime Minister Modi met the African leader on a day when BRICS leaders officially endorsed Ethiopia’s entry into the bloc.

“Giving a boost to India-Ethiopia ties! A productive meeting between PM @narendramodi and PM @AbiyAhmedAli of Ethiopia on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg. PM congratulated PM @AbiyAhmedAli on Ethiopia’s membership of BRICS. PM @AbiyAhmedAli appreciated India’s support for Ethiopia to join the BRICS family,” Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a post on platform X, formerly Twitter.

Prime Minister Ali felicitated Prime Minister Modi on the success of Chandrayaan mission, terming it as a moment of pride and inspiration for Ethiopia and the Global South.

“Discussions covered ways to expand bilateral cooperation in areas like parliamentary contacts, development partnership & capacity building, trade & investment, defence, ICT, agriculture, skilling of youth and people-to-people linkages,” Bagchi said in another post.

The leaders of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) on Thursday decided to admit Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as the new members of the grouping, sealing a long-drawn process.

The decision was announced by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at a joint media briefing along with Prime Minister Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The new members will become part of BRICS with effect from January 1, 2024, Ramaphosa announced.

Prime Minister Modi also met Senegal President Macky Sall and discussed bilateral and regional issues.

Modi arrived in South Africa on Tuesday on a three-day official visit during which he attended the 15th BRICS summit.

On Wednesday, he held a bilateral meeting with South African President Ramaphosa during which they reviewed the progress made in bilateral ties, exchanged views on regional and multilateral issues and also on ways to work jointly to strengthen the voice of the Global South.

From South Africa, the prime minister will travel to Greece on August 25 at the invitation of his Greece counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis. It will be his first visit to this ancient land. “I have the honour to be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece after 40 years,” Modi had said.