NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi will visit Russia on Oct 22-23 at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend the 16th Brics Summit in Kazan under the chairmanship of Russia, the govt announced on Friday.
While Modi will have a bilateral meeting with Putin on Oct 22, official sources did not confirm if he will also have a bilateral with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who will also attend the event.The Indian announcement didn’t name any country but said Modi is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Brics member countries and other invited leaders.
Modi and Xi had an “informal” meeting at the last Brics summit in 2023 in Johannesburg. There was no joint statement and both sides differed on who proposed the meeting.
The Kazan summit, themed ‘Strengthening Multilateralism for Just Global Development and Security’, will provide an important platform for leaders to discuss key global issues, said govt. The Gaza situation is expected to figure prominently in the agenda. Putin has invited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for the summit and has said the Gaza conflict will be discussed in the meetings.
“The summit will offer a valuable opportunity to assess the progress of initiatives launched by Brics and to identify potential areas for future collaboration,” said govt.
Ahead of the summit, Russian ambassador Denis Alipov said that after Brics membership doubled last year, the group will move towards the establishment of a partner-country category to enable interested states to join practical cooperation.
“We think we must satisfy their expectations that would consolidate Brics potential as a dedicated mechanism to promote the agenda of the Global South. I would not prejudge who exactly will be invited, and what are the criteria, but certainly, those countries should be economically ambitious and oppose illegitimate sanctions against member-states,” said Alipov, speaking in an online conference organised by the Centre for Global India Insights.
A Russian minister was quoted as saying in Islamabad earlier this year that Moscow will back Pakistan’s membership bid.
“I presume we are all against the phantom itching for dictating and restricting cooperation with other nations. The case in point is that geopolitical and practical relevance of Brics is growing not only despite uncertainties but because of them reflecting the demand for a more equitable cooperation in a multipolar environment,” added Alipov.