Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not participate in the virtual summit of the “BRICS-Plus” on November 21, which is focused on discussing the Israel-Hamas conflict. Officials have confirmed that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will attend the event on behalf of India.
The decision is attributed to PM Modi’s prior commitments, including campaigning for the ongoing state assembly elections in Rajasthan. However, it also suggests India's discomfort with discussions critical of Israel's actions in Gaza.
India's stance, aligning more closely with the U.S. and Western countries, involves not explicitly demanding a ceasefire by Israeli forces. India abstained from the UN General Assembly (UNGA) vote on a resolution calling for a ceasefire, a stance contrary to the consensus among other BRICS-Plus members. Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Brazilian President Lula Da Silva are expected to participate in the summit, along with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The “Extraordinary Joint Meeting on the Middle East Situation in Gaza” will be hosted by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to formulate a common response and adopt a joint statement regarding the ongoing conflict, lasting over six weeks.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who’s been calling for an immediate ceasefire, will also join the meeting. This will be the first BRICS meeting since the summit in August that led to the group's expansion. Leaders from Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates, set to join the BRICS group in January 2024, are also slated to attend the gathering. The BRICS Plus meeting precedes PM Modi's hosting of the G20 Virtual Summit, and attention will be on references to the Israel-Hamas conflict in that forum as well.
