PM Modi Meets Xi, Putin And Other World Leaders At BRICS Summit

He held bilateral talks with President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, and said the friendship between India and Russia is deep-rooted.

Modi was meeting Putin after their informal meeting in May in the Black Sea coastal city of Sochi in Russia in May.

The two leaders then met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Qingdao, China, in June.

Modi also met Chinese President Xi Jinping and the two leaders, who are meeting for the third time in less than four months, held talks to further friendship between India and China.

India's PM also met South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and the two leaders discussed ways to expand the bilateral ties in a number of sectors, including trade and investment, IT and defence.

Following the delegation-level talks between Modi and Ramaphosa, three MoUs were signed on cooperation in exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes, setting up of Gandhi-Mandela Centre of specialisation for artisan skills and agricultural research and education.

Modi arrived in Johannesburg on Wednesday to attend the two-day BRICS Summit. The theme of the summit is 'BRICS in Africa'.

BRICS is a grouping of emerging nations formed in 2009 and comprises five countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Representing over 40 per cent of the world's population, the block's growth rates surpass those of the developed countries of the G7. 

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for reformed multilateralism.


Addressing a press conference in Johannesburg, officials from the Ministry said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi voiced the requirement for United Nations Security Council (UNSC) reforms.

"Prime Minister said what we need today's is reformed multilateralism. He stressed on the importance of UNSC reforms," the MEA official said.

(With agency inputs)