Prime Minister Narendra Modi was welcomed this morning by Chinese President Xi Jinping with a warm handshake and broad smiles as he arrived for the two-day BRICS summit in the port city of Xiamen. The two leaders are expected to hold talks tomorrow on the sidelines of the ninth edition of the meeting of BRICS nations – a group of the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – just a week after the two countries announced the resolution of the 73-day-long border standoff at Doklam.
ere is your 10-point cheat-sheet to the BRICS Summit 2017:
- PM Modi has a packed schedule ahead – he is holding bilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin this morning and later with Brazilian President Michel Temer at 1:30 pm.
- On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping are expected to hold their first bilateral talks since the Doklam standoff when they meet formally on the sidelines of the BRICS meet.
- The last bilateral meeting between PM Modi and President Xi took place at Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, in June during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also attend meeting with BRICS Business Council and Signing Ceremony in Xiamen. “BRICS has developed a robust framework for cooperation, contribute stability and growth in a world drifting towards uncertainty,” PM Modi said as part of his statement during the Plenary Session were all member nations were present.
- On Sunday, Xi Jinping, without directly referring to the recent Doklam standoff with India, underlined that “peace and development” should be the underpin to resolve issues as the world does not want “conflict and confrontation.” At today’s inaugural session, Mr Xi said, “Despite our differences in national conditions, our five countries are in similar stages of development and share the same development cause.”
- Last Monday, India and China ended a more than two-month-old stand-off near the border in Sikkim. The External Affairs Ministry had announced that New Delhi and Beijing have decided on “expeditious disengagement” of their border troops in the Doklam area.
- It began in the middle of June when Indian soldiers stopped China from building a road in the remote, uninhabited territory of Doklam, claimed by both China and Bhutan.
- The last meeting between PM Modi and Xi Jinping came amid growing differences between the two nations over a host of issues, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and China’s opposition to India’s efforts to enter the Nuclear Suppliers Group. The two leaders had also met informally at G20 in Germany in July.
- China is holding the BRICS summit for the second time. It has invited Egypt, Kenya, Tajikistan, Mexico and Thailand as guest countries for the summit. It has however, clarified that the invitation is not an attempt to expand the group under its “BRICS Plus” approach. The meeting is also taking place in the shadow of the latest nuclear test by North Korea.
- After the BRICS Summit, PM Modi will travel to Myanmar on a bilateral visit. The trip includes a visit to the historic city of Bagan and Yangon. He will also interact with the Indian community in the country.
