Experts say India concerned about expansion and any overt anti-west turn as leaders fly into South Africa
Leaders from developing countries representing almost half the world’s population including China and Russia are to meet inThe Brics grouping summit in Johannesburg, which starts on Tuesday, will be hosted by the South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, and brings together the prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, as well the presidents of China, Xi Jinping, and Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
On Sunday, Ramaphosa sought to reassure concerned observers and domestic opponents that South Africa would “not be drawn into a contest between global powers” and wanted to avoid a world that was “increasingly polarised into competing camps”. “The traditional global governing system has become dysfunctional, deficient and missing in action,” the Chinese ambassador to South Africa, Chen Xiaodong, said at a briefing in Pretoria last week, adding that the Brics grouping was “increasingly becoming a staunch force in defending international justice”.
“India and least of all Modi have no interest in shaping India’s foreign policy in an anti-western direction. Brics was conceived as a geoeconomic platform but is drifting into a geopolitical role and India is not likely to be comfortable with that.” “Countries in the [global] south don’t want to be told who to support, how to behave and how to conduct their sovereign affairs. They are strong enough now to assert their respective positions,” said Sooklal.
Russia also sees the summit as an opportunity to reinforce its alliances in the developing world, particularly in Africa. Putin hosted African leaders in St PetersburgAfrican candidates for membership such as Ethiopia and Nigeria are attracted by the bloc’s commitment to UN reforms that would give Africa a more powerful global voice. Others believe an expanded Brics may be able to drive through changes to the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
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