BRICS Summit 2023: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held a bilateral meeting with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and leaders of Ethiopia, Senegal and Mozambique on the sidelines of the 15th BRICS Summit. The meetings started after the conclusion of BRICS Africa Dialogue.
The meetings were focused on areas of mutual interests and exploring ways of expanding bilateral cooperation in several key areas. These meetings took place as BRICS leaders agreed to expand membership to Argentina, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
PM Modi's meeting with the Iranian President focused on wide-ranging talks, including ways to boost bilateral relations in the sectors of energy, trade and investment, connectivity and counterterrorism. During the meeting, PM Modi felicitated Raisi for joining the BRICS family while the latter congratulated him for the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that both leaders agreed on fast track infrastructure cooperation, including Chabahar project and also exchanged views on regional developments, including Afghanistan.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), PM Modi said, "Had a wonderful meeting with President Ebrahim Raisi. I am glad that Iran will be joining BRICS. Discussed ways to deepen trade and cultural cooperation between India and Iran."
Prior to this, the Indian Prime Minister held bilateral meetings with Ethiopian President Abiy Ahmed Ali, Senegal President Macky Sall and Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi.
"Held fruitful talks with PM @AbiyAhmedAli. Congratulated him on Ethiopia joining BRICS. We discussed ways to boost ties in sectors like trade, defence and people to people relations," tweeted PM Modi.
Sall also conveyed his congratulations to PM Modi on Chandrayaan-3's success and thanked him for India's efforts for the permanent membership of the African Union (AU) in the G20, said Bagchi. They also discussed ways to deepen cooperation in areas like trade and investment, defence and security, energy, mining, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and other areas.
Despite being a jam-packed schedule, the major highlight would be if the Indian PM met Chinese President Xi Jinping before leaving the event.
After the expansion was announced, PM Modi in his address conveyed his best wishes to the leaders of the six countries and said that they will further strengthen the BRICS alliance and give it a new impetus.
"First of all, I would like to convey my heartfelt congratulations to the leaders of these countries. I am confident that together with these countries we will able to infuse new momentum and new energy into our cooperation," he said.
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