NEW DELHI: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads out to Johannesburg to attend the 15th BRICS Summit, speculation is rife on whether he will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Though there is no official word on whether PM Modi and President Xi Jinping will have a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the summit, chances of their shaking hands and striking a conversation are strong as they would be in the same venue for nearly two days. Besides, with the G20 Summit around the corner, some pleasantries will be exchanged based on which Xi Jinping will come for the summit in September, says a source.
The upcoming BRICS Summit (22nd to 24th August) will be the first in-person summit after 2019.
"Schedules of PM Modi’s bilateral meetings in Johannesburg are still being finalised," said Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra on Monday.
India and China’s standoff has continued since the Galwan clashes in 2020. PM Modi and Xi Jinping did have a conversation during the G20 Summit in Bali in November 2022, where the duo discussed stabilising ties.
ALSO READ | As BRICS cooperation accelerates, is it time for the US to develop a BRICS policy?
Since Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the meeting virtually, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is expected to have a meeting with PM Modi, according to a source.
Meanwhile, a business delegation will be accompanying PM Modi and he would also be addressing the Indian diaspora.
"There could be conversations regarding trade in local currencies amongst partner nations as there are many countries with which India has begun trade in national currencies. The most recent addition is the Rupee-Dirham trade that was launced in the UAE recently," said Kwatra.
Rubbishing rumours of the possibility of a common currency for BRICS, Kwatra said that having a single currency is a long and arduous process. The EU took nearly five decades to arrive at it, besides countries need to be at the same level of development, he said.
Another major development that is being awaited at the BRICS meet is the inclusion of more members. It is reported that nearly 23 applications have been submitted from different countries to become members while in all over 40 have shown interest. Amongst those likely to be considered are Iran, UAE and Saudi Arabia. Formally launched in 2009, the BRICS now accounts for 23 per cent of the global GDP and 42 per cent of the world's population. The combined bloc represents more than 16 per cent of the world's trade.
Meanwhile, after attending the BRICS Summit, PM Modi will leave for Athens on an official visit.
"The visit to Greece would give both sides an opportunity to discuss regional and global issues of mutual interest and help broaden and deepen our bilateral engagements," said Kwatra.
Greece is an important partner for India in the EU as it was also a gateway to the EU market. Defence and security partnership will be the core of discussions.
"Greece has amongst the best navies in Europe and we will be looking at partnerships in defence and even co-production. Migration and mobility partnership is also on the cards," said Kwatra. This will be the first visit of an Indian PM to Greece since 1983.
"PM Modi will have a meeting with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsokais and discuss ways to strengthen the ties between both nations," he added.
