New Delhi (TIP)- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Russia from October 22-23 to attend the BRICS summit, the Ministry of External Affairs announced on Friday (October 18, 2024) during which he is also “expected to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from BRICS member countries and invited leaders.”

The big question is if Modi will hold a meeting on the sidelines with Chinese President Xi Jinping, on which official sources said there is “no clarity” as yet. The BRICS respect “civilisational diversity” and is “free from pressure, double standards and interference in domestic affairs,” Russian Envoy in India Denis Alipov said while stating that it was natural for the grouping to expand one way or another. Stating that the “geopolitical and practical relevance of BRICS grouping was growing”, Mr. Alipov said it promotes the agenda of the global south. He was speaking at an online conference on BRICS organised by India Writes Network.
The Envoy added that when it comes to BRICS partner countries membership, the countries should be “economically ambitious” and “oppose illegitimate sanctions”. He also called for an alternate to the SWIFT system used for global payments from which Russia was expelled after the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
Member countries have been pushing for greater use of national currencies for trade between them. Diplomatic sources said this was a priority for Russia, while ruling out the possibility of a common BRICS currency. Another focus for Russia is the full integration of the new members. Several other countries have expressed interest in joining the BRICS, on which informed sources said that is something which has to be done based on consensus and the immediate focus is on the full integration of recently admitted members into the existing framework. The Summit to be held at Kazan is themed “strengthening multilateralism for just global development and security”, will provide an important platform for leaders to discuss key global issues, the MEA noted. “The Summit will offer a valuable opportunity to assess the progress of initiatives launched by BRICS and to identify potential areas for future collaboration.”
The BRICS which came into existence in 2006 saw the addition of five new members in 2024 – Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates and 15 summits have taken so far. The expanded BRICS has a combined population of about 3.5 billion, or 45% of the world’s population. The combined economies of the members are worth more than $28.5tn – about 28% of the global economy. Under Russia’s chairmanship this year, more than 250 BRICS meetings/events have been proposed by Russia. Two major activities include the integration of the invited countries as full members of BRICS and further development of the BRICS partner country model and a list of prospective partner countries to be reported by the next Summit, officials stated. Source: The Hindu