S African government “astounded” by rumours that Modi won’t attend Brics Summit

Johannesburg, Aug 7 (PTI) The South African government has been “astounded” by media reports saying that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not attend the BRICS summit here on August 22, the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation said on Monday.

Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor while briefing the media on South Africa’s state of readiness to host the 15th edition of the BRICS summit said: “The prime minister of India (Narendra Modi) has never said that he is not attending the summit. I am in constant contact with Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar. He has never said that. Our sherpas are in touch and they have never said it. So, we have all been trying to look for this needle in a haystack that began this rumour.”

“I did speak to various colleagues in the government and outside, and everybody was astounded by this rumour. I think someone who is trying to spoil our summit is creating all sorts of stories that suggest that it won’t be successful,” Panodr said while confirming Modi’s attendance in the BRICS summit where the leaders of Brazil, China, India and hosts South Africa will participate in a range of discussions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will participate virtually due to an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant against him.

Putin’s attendance would have made South Africa — an ICC member — obligatory to arrest him should he turn up for the summit.

Reacting to a question on whether Modi had agreed to come after a phone call by President Cyril Ramaphosa, Pandor said the phone call had been in the planning for some time already for Ramaphosa to brief Modi on a number of issues as they developed.

“The phone call was on our agenda. It had nothing to do with this rumour of non-attendance (by Modi),” she said, highlighting a wide range of activities which will take place during the summit.

“The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition and the BRICS Business Council will be hosting a content-rich BRICS Business programme from August 19 to 23; an event that seeks to foster economic growth, collaboration, attracting investment, and showcase opportunities within South Africa, Africa (as a continent) and all the BRICS countries,” the minister said.

All business councils from the BRICS countries are expected to bring large delegations to participate in sector-focused visits to various South African areas.

Pandor said BRICS leaders were expected to discuss the opportunities for realising the full potential of BRICS for inclusive global recovery and sustainable development.

“The leaders’ national statements at the plenary will be followed by reports of the president of the New Development Bank (NDB) as well as the South African chair of the BRICS Business Alliance and the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance, which will be reporting in person to the BRICS leaders for the first time,” Pandor said.

The minister explained how the NDB was established in 2015 to play a catalytic role in providing financial support to emerging markets and developing countries for infrastructure and sustainable development.

“In late 2021, the bank welcomed Bangladesh, Egypt, the UAE and Uruguay as new members, firmly positioning the NDB as a preferred global financing mechanism for emerging markets and developing countries,” Pandor said.

The minister said it was important to remember that BRICS countries are at the centre of global recovery.

“One of the stated objectives of BRICS membership is to leverage the political and economic relations as BRICS members to address the triple challenges of inequality, poverty and unemployment through increased intra-BRICS trade, investment, tourism, capacity-building, skills and technology transfer,” Pandor said.