With the upcoming BRICS summit in South Africa set to discuss admitting new members, India has dismissed as “baseless” reports that it is opposed to the expansion of the five-nation grouping.
In a telephonic conversation as reported by PTI , Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa that he looked forward to visiting Johannesburg to participate in the BRICS Summit.
“President Ramaphosa invited the prime minister for the BRICS summit being hosted by South Africa on August 22-24, and briefed him on the preparations for the same,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on India’s position on BRICS at media briefing said , “We have clarified our position in the past. BRICS members are internally discussing the guiding principles, standards, criteria & procedures for BRICS expansion. This is simply not true that India has some reservations about the expansion…”