India has dismissed as “baseless” reports that it is opposed to the expansion of BRICS, even as the upcoming summit of the five-nation grouping in South Africa is set to discuss admitting new members.
“We have seen some baseless speculation that India has reservations against the expansion. This is simply not true,” Arindam Bagchi, the spokesperson of India’s foreign ministry, said at a media briefing on Thursday, PTI reported.
“We have talked about India’s position on expansion and we have clarified our position in the past. As mandated by the leaders last year, BRICS members are internally discussing the guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures for the BRICS expansion process on the basis of full consultation and consensus,” he added.
BRICS to discuss membership expansion
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in Moscow that the grouping will be further strengthened with the addition of new members.
The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Iran, Indonesia, and Kazakhstan are among the countries which have shown keen interest in joining the grouping.
The summit scheduled from August 22 to 24 is expected to extensively deliberate on the expansion of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).
Meanwhile, in a telephonic conversation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa that he looked forward to visiting Johannesburg to participate in the summit.
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