All eyes are on the potential meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping as PM Modi departs for the 15th BRICS (a grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. If such a meeting happens, it would be the two countries’ first since the border impasse between China and India started in May 2020.
Prior to leaving, Prime Minister Modi issued a statement in which he stated, “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.” This is the first BRICS summit to take place in person since 2019.
South Africa is in charge of the BRICS this year. “BRICS and Africa: Partnership for mutually accelerated growth, sustainable development, and inclusive multilateralism” is the summit’s topic for this year.
negotiations between China and India
When asked whether PM Narendra Modi and President Xi would conduct discussions on the sidelines of the summit, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said on Monday that PM Modi’s bilateral engagements on the sidelines of the BRICS conference in Johannesburg are still being finalized. China has previously said that Xi Jinping will attend the conference.
At a dinner held at the G20 conference in Bali in November of last year, PM Modi and President Xi briefly interacted. If the two leaders do meet, it would be their first encounter since the India-China border impasse started in May 2020.
Even though the two sides completed disengagement at some locations after protracted diplomatic and military discussions, the Indian and Chinese soldiers have been embroiled in a three-year conflict in some of the tension areas in eastern Ladakh. The 19th round of Corps Commander-level negotiations, which were conducted on August 13 and 14, focused on settling outstanding concerns at the Depsang and Demchok standoff zones.
The meetings were described as “positive, constructive, and in-depth” in a joint statement, and it was said that both parties had promised to swiftly settle any outstanding concerns.
The prime minister said that he would depart from South Africa for Athens, Greece on August 25 at the request of his Greek counterpart, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, after the BRICS Summit. He said that this would be his first trip to this remote location. He stated, “I have the privilege of becoming the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece in 40 years.
Our two civilizations have been in contact for more than two millennia, and in recent years, our relations have been enhanced by our common respect for democracy, the rule of law, and pluralism, he added.
