Highlights: PM Modi suggests forming BRICS space group after Chandrayaan-3's success

The leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa held closed-door discussions Wednesday on the possible expansion of their BRICS economic bloc, a move they've framed as a way to amplify the voice of developing nations, but which also serves the geopolitical interests of Beijing and Moscow.

A decision on whether to accept new members had been expected late Wednesday, the second day of a three-day BRICS summit in Johannesburg. But officials said that was looking unlikely and a declaration might be made on Thursday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa met at a conference center in the Sandton financial district in South Africa's biggest city.

Leaders of the BRICS bloc of leading developing countries have agreed mechanisms for considering new members, South Africa said on Wednesday, paving the way for dozens of interested nations to join the group which has pledged to champion the "Global South".

Agreement on expansion could help lend global clout to BRICS - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - at a time when geopolitical polarisation is spurring efforts by Beijing and Moscow to forge it into a viable counterweight to the West.

"We have agreed on the matter of expansion," South Africa's foreign minister Naledi Pandor said on Ubuntu Radio, a station run by her ministry, following a meeting by BRICS leaders at a three-day summit in South Africa.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested the creation of a BRICS space consortium, hours before a spacecraft from the South Asian nation landed near the moon’s south pole.

Modi was speaking at the plenary session of the BRICS bloc — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — in Johannesburg on Wednesday. India became the first country to land a spacecraft near the moon’s south pole after Russia’s attempt at a lunar touch down in the same area ended in failure following an engine malfunction.

“We congratulate you,” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said after Modi’s speech. “This for the BRICS family is a momentous moment.”

Consensus remained elusive on a common BRICS currency as business leaders from the five-bloc nations debated the pivotal issue at a business forum on the periphery of a summit of the five-member bloc being hosted here by South Africa.

In their two addresses at the Summit so far, the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have made no or scant references to the issue either.

“The BRICS Business Forum discussed the international payments system in detail. Participants also debated the question of whether a BRICS currency is possible or desirable, with strong views expressed both for and against and little consensus reached,” Sim Tshabalala, Chief Executive of Standard Bank Group, told several hundred captains of industry from the partner countries and over 40 other nations across the globe at the Summit.

The BRICS group of nations, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, have adopted a document that sets out guidelines and principles for the group's expansion, South Africa's Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said on Wednesday. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday put forward multiple areas — such as the space sector, traditional medicine and technology — for cooperation between the BRICS member nations.

He also affirmed confidence that the BRICS nations will support New Delhi’s initiative of including the African Union in G20 at the summit next month.

Addressing the open plenary session of the 15th BRICS Summit, PM Modi said, “To give a new direction to the BRICS agenda, India put forward suggestions like Railway Research network, close cooperation between MSMEs and online BRICS database start-up forum. To further enhance our close cooperation, I would like to put forward some suggestions”.

China's President Xi Jinping called for unity among his BRICS counterparts at a summit in South Africa on Wednesday as he pushed the case for expanding the grouping to face a global "period of turbulence and transformation".

Leaders of the bloc of leading developing nations Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are meeting in Johannesburg with discussions around establishing a framework and criteria for admitting new members topping the agenda.

While all BRICS members have publicly expressed support for growing the bloc, divisions remain over how much and how quickly.

China's President Xi Jinping called for the acceleration of the expansion of the BRICS group on Wednesday, a goal the world's second largest economy has long harboured.

Addressing a summit of the bloc's leaders in South Africa's commercial capital Johannesburg, Xi said he was glad to see that developing countries had shown great enthusiasm in participating in BRICS and many of them having applied to join.

"We should let more countries join the BRICS family to pool wisdom and efforts to make global governance more just and equitable," Xi said.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday congratulated India for its spacecraft Chandrayaan-3 and called it a momentous occasion for the BRICS.

Delivering his address at the open plenary session at the 15th BRICS Summit today, Ramaphosa said, "I would like to congratulate India, particularly as you speak about the need for cooperation in Space ... India's spacecraft Chandrayaan-3 will be landing on the moon. We congratulate you."

"This for us, as the BRICS family, is a momentous occasion and we rejoice with you. We join you in the joy of this great achievement...," he added.

The New Development Bank, a financial institution created by the BRICS bloc, is struggling to find viable projects to fund as part of its $3 billion pledge for South Africa’s Just Energy Transition initiative.

“We need bankable projects that have gone through due diligence processes and there’s a shortage,” Leslie Maasdorp, chief financial officer at the NDB, said in an interview in Johannesburg. “That is the constraint that we face.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday hoped that India's proposal to accord permanent membership of the G20 to the African Union will be supported by all the BRICS nations.

In his address at the BRICS ((Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) summit in Johannesburg, Modi said India is according "highest priority" to the issues of countries of the Global South under its G20 presidency.

India is hosting the G20 summit on September 9 and 10. All the BRICS nations are permanent members of the G20.

"We have also proposed to give permanent membership of G20 to the African Union. I am sure all the BRICS partners are also together in the G20 and all will support our proposal," Modi said.

The African Union (AU) is an influential organisation consisting of the 55 member states that make up the countries of the African continent.

China's President Xi Jinping called on Wednesday for the acceleration of the expansion of the BRICS group.

"We should let more countries join the BRICS family and pool wisdom to make global governance more fair and reasonable," Xi said on the second day of a BRICS leaders summit in South Africa's Johannesburg.

President Vladimir Putin used a speech to a summit of BRICS leaders on Wednesday to defend Russia's war in Ukraine and praise the grouping as a counterbalance to U.S. global dominance.

Speaking by video link to leaders of the group, he repeated the Kremlin narrative that his invasion, condemned by Ukraine and the West as an imperialist land grab, was a forced response by Russia to Kyiv's and Washington's hostile actions.

"Our actions in Ukraine are dictated by only one thing - to end the war that was unleashed by the West and its satellites against the people who live in the Donbas," Putin said, referring to the eastern part of Ukraine where Russian proxies have been fighting the Ukrainian army since 2014.

BRICS leaders on Wednesday will debate admitting new members to their five-nation bloc as it pursues a bigger role in shaping world affairs it sees as dominated by western powers.

China is seeking to rapidly grow the club of large emerging economies amid rising competition with the United States, and more than 40 nations are lining up to join.

But the BRICS other major power, India, is wary of rushing to expand and the divisive issue tops the agenda as it discusses its future at a three-day summit in Johannesburg.

The BRICS nations -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- represent 40 percent of the world's population and a quarter of the global economy.

In next 7 years, BRICS will be breaking barriers, revitalising economies, inspiring innovations, creating opportunities, and shaping futures, says PM Modi in his brief address at Summit.

Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/world/brics-summit-live-updates-modi-south-africa-china-xi-jinping-south-africa-russia-vladimir-putin-johannesburg-2657258

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asserted that for a "future-ready" BRICS, the societies of these five countries will have to be "future-ready" and extended India's support to the expansion of the grouping based on consensus.

Addressing the annual summit of leaders of BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa), including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Modi, also hoped that India's proposal to make the African Union a permanent member of the G20 will be supported by BRICS member nations.

"We will have to make our societies future-ready to make BRICS future-ready," he said at the meet in Johannesburg.

rime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that the BRICS countries have to make their societies future-ready to make the grouping a future-ready organisation and that technology will play an important role in these endeavours.

Addressing the open plenary session of the 15th BRICS Summit here, the Prime Minister said India had given a lot of importance to the countries of Global South under its G20 Presidency and lauded South Africa for the initiative as the chair of the BRICS summit.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday told a summit of the BRICS grouping that Moscow wants to put an end to the "war unleashed by West"

He said, "The desire of a number of Western countries to maintain their hegemony in the world led to a severe crisis in Ukraine...the actions of the Russian Federation in Ukraine are dictated only by the desire to stop the war of extermination unleashed by the West..."

Addressing the plenary session of the 15th BRICS Summit via video conferencing, Putin also called for de-dollarisation stressing that BRICS countries must expand settlements in national currencies and enhance cooperation between banks.

Putin also announced that Russia as chairman of BRICS next year plans to hold summit in Kazan in October 2024.

"In our chairmanship, we will have the following mottos- strengthening multilateralism for global development and security; we plan to have some 200 political, economic and public events; BRICS summit is scheduled for October 2024 in the city of Kazan..."

We welcome the move to give special importance to the countries of the global south in BRICS under the chairmanship of South Africa. India has also given importance to this subject under its G20 presidency: PM Modi at the open plenary session of the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg

We proposed permanent membership of G20 to African Union; I am confident that our BRICS partners will support this in G20: PM Modi.

India fully supports expansion of BRICS and welcomes move to move forward on this based on consensus: PM Modi.

In around two decades, BRICS has undertaken a long and magnificent journey. In this journey, we made numerous achievements

PM Narendra Modi speaks at the open plenary session of the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg

"To make BRICS a future-ready organisation, we will need to make our respective societies also future-ready, and technology will play an important role in this..."

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on the Russia-Ukraine conflict at the open plenary session of the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg

"BRICS countries will continue to be supportive of bringing this conflict to an end through dialogue, mediation and negotiation"

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says, "I would like to congratulate India, particularly as you speak about the need for cooperation in Space, in a few hours India's spacecraft Chandrayaan-3 will be landing on the moon. We congratulate you. This for us, as the BRICS family, is a momentous occasion and we rejoice with you. We join you in the joy of this great achievement..."