The BRICS summit offers Modi an excellent platform to reach out to world leaders and conduct diplomacy on the very ticklish issue of reform of the world governance structure, and to exchange notes with his peers on international, regional and bilateral issues on the margins of the meeting, says Rup Narayan Das.
'I suspect that Bangladesh being given permission stuck in India's official craw, and this story was an attempt to balance the scales by giving the impression that a similar waiver had been given to India as well.'
The BRICS also called upon all nations to adopt a comprehensive approach in combating terrorism including countering radicalisation and blocking terror financing sources.
Evidently, something has gone awry in India's regional strategies. Yet, one feels tempted to call this India's "BRICS moment". The Durban summit will show how far India is prepared to go in a new direction. MK Bhadrakumar examines
India and China celebrated the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic relations on Tuesday, with leaders from both countries exchanging congratulatory messages. The anniversary comes as the two countries are working to restore ties after a four-year freeze due to the military standoff in eastern Ladakh. Both countries have expressed a willingness to enhance strategic mutual trust and step up cooperation in various fields. The two sides are also exploring ways to rebuild ties and promote people-to-people exchanges.
Pakistan-based terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammed were named on Monday in the Summit declaration of the BRICS countries.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed to work towards a "fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable" resolution of the festering boundary issue and pledged to work towards stabilising global trade.
The fact that the Indian government has allowed the bank to be headquartered in Shanghai merely underlines the fact that this will be a largely Chinese enterprise.
Showing respect to the Indian flag, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday immediately picked up the tricolour placed on stage at a BRICS meeting here to mark the standing place of every leader so as not to step on it.
'To suddenly give the impression of taking a position that is hostile to Iran, or, at least, not friendly to Iran, is not a good thing.'
In his conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Xi Jinping stressed that improving China-India relations serves common interests and is conducive to peace and stability of the region and the world.
New Delhi, while opting not to retaliate yet to the American tariffs, has in recent weeks sought to reinforce its friendship with Moscow, and recalibrate its ties with Beijing rather than surrender to Washington's diktats.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that it is imperative for the two sides to view each other as partners and opportunities rather than rivals or threats, and invest their valuable resources in development and revitalisation.
Both nations have to find ways to be sensitive to each other's politico-strategic and economic concerns, say Dr Rahul Mishra and Sana Hashmi.
Modi is visiting the African country from August 22 to 24 at the invitation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. South Africa is hosting the first in-person summit of BRICS comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, since 2019.
If Xi Jinping can establish control over the PLA Ground Force, relations between India and China will settle down to an even keel. The next few weeks will show whether Xi has finally succeeded in gaining control over the PLA Ground Force. That could bring about the substantive shift in India-China relations that both our leaders have been working for, observes Ambassador Prabhat Shukla.
The bank, however, may not start functioning before 2014 and is likely to have substantially less initial paid-up capital than the amount of $240 billion that is doing the rounds currently.
Modi put forward new initiatives for the BRICS grouping
An Indian commerce ministry team will soon visit Washington for another round of talks on the proposed trade agreement with the US to iron out differences in sectors, like agriculture and automobiles, a government official said on Thursday.
In the talks, Putin hoped that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Russia's Kazan next month to attend the annual BRICS summit.
The Galwan clash occurred six months after the Doklam disengagement and two high-profile meetings. India should not be caught by surprise once again, asserts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
Noting that India has 'limitless possibilities and countless opportunities', Modi urged the BRICS business leaders to take advantage of them.
In a statement released by Pakistan's ministry of foreign affairs, Aziz said that "Modi is misleading his BRICS and BIMSTEC colleagues", after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that Pakistan is the 'mothership of terrorism'.
In his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS Summit in the Russian city of Kazan, Xi said that China-India relations are essentially a question of how the two large developing countries and neighbours, each with a 1.4-billion-strong population, treat each other, it added.
"The Modi government's approach to the entire crisis could be described as DDLJ: Deny, Distract, Lie and Justify," Ramesh said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held bilateral talks focusing on economic ties and global stability amid trade tensions and the aftermath of the Ladakh border row.
The decision was taken at the BRICS Summit in Durban which also launched a Business Council to encourage investment and trade in member countries and to expand business cooperation.
'The BRICS anthem has to necessarily be an anthem of Vedic times -- Walk together, Dream together, Achieve together.' 'And who knows it better than Modi?' says Tarun Vijay.
China has objected to Indian Minister Kiren Rijiju's remarks on the Dalai Lama's reincarnation, urging India to be cautious on Tibet-related issues to avoid impacting bilateral relations. China insists any future Dalai Lama must receive its approval.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived in Sanya, China on Tuesday at the Phoenix International Airport to attend the BRICS Summit that will see the formal induction of South Africa as the fifth member of the emerging economies group, which already has Brazil, Russia, India and China as members.
India would neither succumb to the Americans on issues of national security, such as its defence ties with Russia, nor cede ground on its domestic interests in the agriculture and dairy sectors.
China has honored an army regiment commander who was injured in the Galwan Valley border clash with Indian soldiers in 2020 as an outstanding member of the national advisory body - Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Qi Fabao, who was made the torchbearer for the Winter Olympics in 2022, was among the 33 individuals honored with the 2024 Outstanding Performance Award for CPPCC Members. The incident, which resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers, led to a freeze in relations between the two countries for over four years. Ties were restored after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in October 2023.
China is set to build a rail link connecting Xinjiang province with Tibet, part of which will run near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India.
Modi said a separate rating agency would help the economies of the member countries as well as other developing nations.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said that his trip to Durban for the fifth BRICS Summit will be an opportunity for him to not only greet the new Chinese President Xi Jinping personally, but also to discuss how New Delhi and Beijing can maintain the positive trajectory of their relationship.
Defence sources stated that the disengagement involves removing infrastructure and withdrawing troops from both sides. The process is expected to be completed by Tuesday.
'The group commands 85 per cent of the global GDP, and if you are able to convey your point of view effectively to this group then you have reached more or less all the important players that matter.'
Sheela Bhatt, who traveled with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the BRICS Summit in Durban, gauges the buzz ahead of the event that begins Tuesday.
'There's no pro-China tilt in BRICS.' 'All these countries want to be close to China, but they are all good friends of India also.'
China on Wednesday said the Chinese and Indian militaries are implementing the resolutions concerning the disengagement in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in an 'orderly' manner.
