Presidents Lula da Silva, Xi Jinping, Cyril Ramaphosa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the BRICS summit where a consensus was reached on the expansion of the bloc.
Gianluigi Guercia/ Pool/AFP
When India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in South Africa on Tuesday, he was adamant the BRICS group of nations would not be expanded.
Less than 24 hours later, on day two of the 15th BRICS summit, he flipped the switch and supported growing calls for expanding the formation, paving the way for a new union of nations to challenge major hegemonies.
“India supports the expansion of BRICS membership, and we welcome moving forward on this, using consensus. BRICS will be breaking barriers and revitalising economies,” he said.
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