PM Narendra Modi leaves for Brazil on Sunday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves for Brazil on Sunday for attending the five-nation summit of BRICS nations on July 14 and 15 which is expected to finalise the setting up of a development bank and seek reforms of the United Nations and international financial organisations.

After a stopover in Berlin on Sunday night, he will leave for Fortaleza, the north-eastern coastal city of Brazil, on Monday for the summit of leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to be held on July 15, providing him his first opportunity at a multilateral engagement.

An earlier plan to have a meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin was shelved because of Germany’s entry into the Fifa World Cup final, for which she will be in Brazil.

Modi will be accompanied by a high-level delegation that includes Minister of State for Finance Nirmala Sitharaman, National Security Adviser A K Doval, Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh and Finance Secretary Arvind Mayaram.

The sixth summit of BRICS, which will follow up on the decisions of the Durban meeting last year, will provide the new Indian prime minister his first opportunity at meeting world leaders, including President Xi Jinping of China and Vladimir Putin of Russia, and discuss bilateral issues.

Officials say that India will be hoping for an endorsement of the need for UN Security Council reforms and also those of the Bretton Woods institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Discussions are also on about the contribution from each member state and where to locate its headquarters -- whether Shanghai or New Delhi.    

On the sidelines of the summit, he will also be meeting South African President Jacob Zuma besides host President Dilma Roussef of Brazil. On July 16, the BRICS leaders will move to the Brazilian capital, Brasilia, where they will meet leaders of South America, who have been invited by the hosts on the lines of Zuma inviting African leaders to Durban.

Modi will get an opportunity to engage with the Latin American region through meeting the leaders of South America, including heads of state and government from countries like Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela.

On his way back home, the PM will make a brief halt in Frankfurt before reaching Delhi on July 17 night.