NEW DELHI: India is gathering support amongst BRICS members to arrive at a consensus for an expansion of the group.
"During the BRICS Leaders Retreat on Tuesday, India took the lead in forging a consensus on membership criteria and selection of new members. Our efforts were guided by our objective to incorporate our strategic partners as new members," said a source familiar with the matter.
Saudi Arabia, Iran and the UAE are strategic partners of most member states and are likely to be included in the BRICS fold, it is learnt.
"India fully supports the expansion of the BRICS membership and welcomes moving forward with consensus in this regard," PM Modi said.
Meanwhile, before the summit, Deputy President of South Africa Paul Mashatile had said that one of the core issues of discussions would be to reduce dependence on the dollar.
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"There was extensive talk on encouraging trade in national currencies. A lot of trade amongst BRICS members is being done in national currencies and this would be encouraged further," said a source.
Meanwhile, PM Modi began his speech by speaking of the historic connect between India and South Africa, mentioning the Tolstoy Farm which was built by Mahatma Gandhi 110 years ago.
"Had a fruitful meeting with PM Modi. We congratulated India on the success of Chandrayaan-3 and wished India for the upcoming G20 Summit and our participation," said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Amongst the suggestions for broadening cooperation, PM Modi suggested creating a BRICS Space Exploration Consortium under which countries could work for global good in areas like space research and weather monitoring. He also spoke about cooperating in education, skill development and technology.
"Our New Development Bank is playing an important role in the development of the countries of the Global South. We have created a financial safety net through the Contingency Reserve Arrangement. With initiatives like BRICS satellite constitution, Vaccine R&D Centre, mutual recognition of pharma products, we are bringing positive changes in the lives of common citizens of BRICS countries," said PM Modi.
This is PM Modi's third visit to South Africa, commemorating the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between the two countries.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin, during his video address, said that the war in Ukraine was unleashed by the West and its satellites.
"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 Russia in Ukraine are dictated by the desire to stop the war of extermination unleashed by the West," said President Putin.
