On the final day of his three-day visit to South Africa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday addressed the BRICS Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue, where he laid emphasis to the contributions of his country in trade relations and development of African countries.
Addressing the dialogue, PM Modi focused his opening remarks on the contribution of Mahatma Gandhi in the shared history between India and South Africa and said that both sides have jointly opposed the forces of colonialism and apartheid.
"India has accorded high priority to its relations with Africa. Along with high-level meetings, we have opened 16 new embassies and high commissions in Africa. Today, India is Africa's fourth largest trading partner and fifth largest investor, whether it is power projects in Sudan, Burundi and Rwanda or sugar plants in Ethiopia and Malawi," said the Indian Prime Minister.
He also mentioned that India has granted over 15,000 scholarships in the area of tele-education and tele-medicine, along with construction of defence academies and colleges in several African nations.
"We have deployed our teams to Botswana, Namibia, Uganda, Luzoto, Zambia, Maurituius and Tanzania to provide training. Approx 4,400 Indian peacekeepers including women are contributing to restoring peace and stability in Africa. We are also working together with African countries in the fight against terrorism and stability," he added.
The PM also briefly spoke about the supply of food products and vaccines to several countries in the African continent during the difficult times of the COVID-19 pandemic. He also invited all countries to international initiatives like International Solar Alliance (ISA), One Sun, One World, One Grid, the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, the Big Cat Alliance and more
"I believe that the BRICS and all the friendly countries present here can work together to strengthen a multipolar world. They can ensure progress in the reforms of global institutions to help them become more representative and relevant," he said.
He once again welcomed six new countries into the BRICS alliance - Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE - after the five-nation bloc agreed on an expansion, saying that they will make global institutions more representative and inclusive.
Earlier, PM Modi held a brief interaction with Chinese President Xi Jinping just before the leaders held a joint press conference on Thursday. The details of the conversation are yet to be revealed.
On Wednesday, the Prime Minister had expressed full support to the expansion of BRICS membership in the opening plenary session of the much-anticipated Summit and said that the group will create further opportunities and shape the future of the world.
PM Modi also said that India has proposed for granting permanent membership to African Union (AU) in the G20 under the former's presidency and exuded confidence that all BRICS countries will support the inclusion.
He also said that the last two decades were a "long and magnificent journey" for BRICS and listed some achievements such as the BRICS Satellite Constellation, a vaccine R&D centre and mutual recognition of pharma products.
Notably, India and South Africa are celebrating 30 years of diplomatic relations amid the 15th BRICS Summit being held in Johannesburg.
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