The BRICS summit 2023 is being held in Johannesburg from August 22 to 24 and it will be the first in-person meeting of the bloc since 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is attending the summit and all eyes are on a possible interaction between him and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of meet.
The Indian government has not clearly stated if the two leaders will hold a meeting in South Africa.
Asked at a media briefing whether Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold talks on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra only said that the schedule of the prime minister's bilateral meetings is being finalised.
"We have a positive intent and an open mind when it comes to BRICS expansion," Kwatra said.
BRICS member countries are Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Russian president Vladimir Putin, however, won't be attending the summit reportedly due to an arrest warrant issued against him by International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Ukraine. He will be represented in Johannesburg by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov