India set to become growth engine of the world, says PM Modi at BRICS summit

The prime minister, who is in South Africa to participate in the first in-person summit of BRICS nations since 2019, told the gathering that despite the turmoil in the global economy, India today is the fastest growing major economy in the world.

India is set to be the growth engine of the world in the coming years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said as he addressed the BRICS Business Forum Leaders’ Dialogue in Johannesburg in South Africa on Tuesday.

The BRICS business forum’s meeting is the first event the prime minister attended after arriving in Johannesburg to attend the 15^th summit of the bloc comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. He highlighted the various reforms being undertaken by his government to improve the ease of doing business in India, including technology-based solutions to address the social and economic challenges. He invited BRICS business leaders to participate in India’s developmental journey.

The BRICS summit is being hosted by South African president Cyril Ramaphosa. It is being held in in-person mode for the first time after the Covid-19 pandemic forced the bloc to hold the annual conclave of the leaders virtually.

The prime minister noted that the Covid-19 pandemic had highlighted the importance of resilient and inclusive supply chains. He emphasized the importance of mutual trust and transparency for building a credible supply chain.

He also suggested that the BRICS nations could contribute significantly to global welfare, particularly of the Global South.

Modi, Ramaphosa, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva arrived in Johannesburg to attend the BRICS summit. Only President Vladimir Putin of Russia is attending the summit virtually in view of the arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on March 17 last for allegedly scheming to deport children of Ukraine to Russia. South Africa is a signatory of the ‘Rome Statute’, the treaty governing the ICC, and it would have come under pressure from the United States and other western nations to execute the arrest warrant against the Russian President had he travelled to the country to attend the BRICS summit in Johannesburg.

“(The) BRICS has been pursuing a strong cooperation agenda across various sectors. 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,” the prime minister earlier said before leaving New Delhi for Johannesburg. “This summit will provide a useful opportunity for BRICS to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development,” he added.

Modi will also participate in BRICS–Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue event.

The prime minister had said before leaving for Johannesburg that he would hold bilateral meetings with some of the leaders present in Johannesburg.

New Delhi and Beijing are in touch to explore the possibility of the prime minister having a bilateral meeting with President Xi Jinping of China on the sideline of the summit to bring the relations between India and its communist neighbour back on the track.

The relations between India and China nosedived after the neighbouring country’s People’s Liberation Army’s aggressive moves along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) – the de facto boundary between the two nations – in eastern Ladakh and the counter deployment by the Indian Army in April-May 2020 resulted in a stand-off with a violent face-off in Galwan Valley on June 15, 2020.

The prime minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome after landing in Johannesburg. Paul Shipokosa Mashatile, the deputy president of South Africa, received him at the airport.

He will attend the BRICS Leaders’ Retreat later on Tuesday and the formal summit and the outreach events on Wednesday.