Watch: PM Modi departs for first in-person BRICS summit since 2019

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that the BRICS summit will provide a useful opportunity for its members to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development.

In his departure statement ahead of visiting South Africa to attend the 15th BRICS summit, he said BRICS has been pursuing a strong cooperation agenda across various sectors. "We value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system," he said.

This summit will provide a useful opportunity for BRICS to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development, he said.

Noting that he will also participate in the 'BRICS–Africa Outreach' and 'BRICS Plus Dialogue' events that will be held as part of the summit activities, Modi said he looked forward to interacting with a number of guest countries that have been invited to participate in this event.

"I also look forward to holding bilateral meetings with some of the Leaders present in Johannesburg," he said.

Modi is visiting the South African city from August 22 to 24 to attend the 15th BRICS summit at the invitation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

It will be the first in-person summit of BRICS comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, since 2019. From South Africa, the prime minister said, he will travel to Athens, Greece on August 25 at the invitation of his Greece counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis, he noted that this will be his first visit to this ancient land.

"I have the honour to be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece after 40 years," he said.

Contacts between our two civilizations stretch back over two millennia and, in modern times, our ties have been strengthened by shared values of democracy, rule of law and pluralism, he said.

Cooperation in diverse sectors such as trade and investment, defence, and cultural and people-to-people contacts have been bringing our two countries closer, he added.

He looked forward to visiting Greece and opening a new chapter in our multifaceted relationship, Modi said.