India's Modi calls for Brics to be 'the voice of the global south' - foreign ministry

MOSCOW - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called on the BRICS group to be "the voice of the Global South" and reaffirmed India's commitment to support Africa, the Indian External Affairs Ministry said Thursday.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the Brics-Africa Outreach and Brics Plus Dialogue, on Aug 24, 2023 in Johannesburg... Prime Minister called for the BRICS to be the voice of the Global South. He underlined India’s close partnership with Africa and reaffirmed India’s commitment to support Africa in its development journey under Agenda 2063," the ministry said in a release, reported Sputnik.

Modi has also called for further cooperation to "strengthen multi-polar world and emphasised the need to reform the global institutions to keep them representative and relevant" and urged leaders to boost cooperation in counter-terrorism, preservation of the environment, climate action, cybersecurity, food, and health security, and resilient supply chains, the statement read.

The prime minister has also "extended invitation to countries to be a part of international initiatives such as International Solar Alliance, One Sun One World One Grid, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, One Earth One Health, Big Cat Alliance and Global Centre for Traditional Medicine. He also offered to share India’s Digital Public Infrastructure Stack," the ministry said.

BRICS - the group uniting the world's largest developing economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa - held its annual top-level summit in South Africa's capital, Johannesburg, from Tuesday to Thursday. On Thursday, Argentina, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, and Egypt were invited to join the group during the summit. - BERNAMA-SPUTNIK