India supports expansion of BRICS: Modi

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA (AA) - India supports the expansion of BRICS economic bloc, the country’s prime minister said on Wednesday.

"India fully supports the expansion of BRICS membership and we welcome moving forward on this based on consensus," Modi said in his remarks at the open plenary session of the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg.

BRICS is an economic bloc comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. It currently makes up a quarter of the global economy and is home to more than 40% of the world’s population.

Modi also suggested establishing a BRICS space exploration consortium.

Earlier, Modi said India and South Africa will keep working together to strengthen the voice of the Global South.

This came after Modi met with South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa in Johannesburg on the sidelines of the 15th BRICS Summit.

Modi wrote on X that he had an “excellent” meeting with Ramaphosa.

“We discussed a wide range of issues aimed at deepening India-South Africa relations. Trade, defence and investment linkages featured prominently in our discussions," Modi said.

"We will keep working together to strengthen the voice of the Global South as well," he added.

Global South comprises countries in Latin America, Africa, and much of Asia.

In a statement, the Indian Foreign Ministry said the two sides also exchanged views on "continued coordination in multilateral bodies and regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest."

"President Ramaphosa expressed full support for India’s G20 presidency and appreciated India’s initiative for giving the African Union full membership of G-20. He conveyed that he looked forward to visiting New Delhi for the G-20 Summit," the statement said.

The ministry also said Modi accepted Ramaphosa's invitation to pay a state visit to South Africa "at a mutually convenient date."