Last Updated: October 23, 2024, 08:24 IST
BRICS 2024 LIVE: On the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Russia’s Kazan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to hold a bilateral meeting on Wednesday, the first such talks in five years.
The meeting between Modi and Xi holds significance as New Delhi and Beijing announced on Monday that they have agreed to disengage and begin patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. This breakthrough ended the four-year-long military standoff.
On the first day of the BRICS summit, Modi held bilateral meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. With President Pezeshkian, Modi held fruitful discussions against the backdrop of the escalating conflict in the West Asia region. During the meeting with Putin, the Prime Minister congratulated him on Russia’s successful presidency of BRICS. He invited the Russian President to India for the 23rd Annual Summit next year.
Russia is the chair of the BRICS, which has a rotational presidency. The acronym BRIC was coined in 2001 by then-Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O’Neill in a research paper that underlined the massive growth potential of Brazil, Russia, India and China this century. Russia, India and China began to meet more formally, eventually adding Brazil, then South Africa. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates joined this year.
Earlier, in his departure statement, Modi said India values the close cooperation within BRICS, which has emerged as an important platform for dialogue and discussion on a range of issues concerning the global developmental agenda. The Prime Minister said the expansion of BRICS with the addition of new members last year has added to its inclusivity and agenda for the global good.