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Transcript of Special Briefing by MEA on PM's visit to Ghana, Trinidad & Tobago, Argentina, Brazil, and Namibia

India - Ministry of External Affairs

June 30, 2025

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I welcome you to this Special Briefing on Prime Minister's upcoming visit to Ghana, Trinidad & Tobago, Argentina, Brazil and Namibia, in that order. For this five-nation tour of Prime Minister, we have with us, to brief us on this visit, Secretary (ER) Shri. Dammu Ravi, Secretary (South) Smt. Neena Malhotra, Secretary (East) Shri. P. Kumaran. As also, we are joined by Additional Secretary and Joint Secretaries who are in charge of these countries and regions.

We have Additional Secretary (Central America) Shri. Rajesh Vaishnaw, Joint Secretary (South America) Shri. Praphullachandra Sharma, and Joint Secretary (East and Southern Africa) Shri. Mayank Singh.

With that, I invite Secretary (ER) to make his opening remarks. Sir, the floor is yours.

Shri Dammu Ravi, Secretary (ER): Thank you, Randhir. Good afternoon to all of you.

What I'm going to do is, there are several countries on which Prime Minister will be visiting in this tour. So, I will cover areas that I deal with, and then we'll let the other secretaries take over those areas they deal with.

So, I'll start with Ghana. So, Honorable Prime Minister will be visiting Ghana on 2nd and 3rd July. This visit is happening after 30 years. The program is quite hectic on the day of the 2nd. There will be a ceremonial welcome for Honorable Prime Minister. There will be delegation-level talks during which the bilateral relations will be reviewed, and also discuss various ways to strengthen and deepen bilateral relations. Honorable Prime Minister will have a one-on-one meeting with his counterpart. Then there will be a banquet dinner in honor of Honorable Prime Minister.

The next day, Prime Minister will be addressing the parliament and he also will be interacting with the Indian community there, which is about 15,000 in number.

Let me put this in the context. The President John Dramani Mahama has just assumed office in about January of this year after a landslide victory, which is why the visit assumes importance. Early in his tenure, Honorable Prime Minister will be visiting Ghana. So, it will help in the continuity as well as deepening the relationship and to discuss various ways to further strengthen the relationship.

President Mahama is no stranger. He has been to India in the past, particularly for the India-Africa Forum Summit in 2015 and there have been various occasions where two leaders have met in the past as well. India's relations with Ghana are historical. In the seven decades of a relationship, it has evolved to multi-faceted. We took up the cause of Ghana in the UN much before it won independence in 1957, and we have maintained a close relationship in the multilateral fora on various issues that are important for the global South.

Both the countries will work towards boosting the economic cooperation and this is very important to note that Ghana is undergoing a deep economic restructuring. Especially, it has undergone the IMF conditionalities almost 17 times. So, the economic agenda will dominate the talks. The bilateral trade between India and Ghana is about $3 billion in favor of Ghana because of the large imports of gold. Investments in Ghana are about $2 billion. Both private sector-wise, which is about a billion dollars and the second half, you have lines of credit and the buyer's credit ... activities and projects have been undertaken. We have very strong cooperation in the capacity building under ITEC, and that is continuing to be stronger and deepened.

During the visit, there will be a few focus items. There will be agriculture, where the Ghanaian leader, the President, is keen to engage with India. He is also keen on the vaccine development, creating a vaccine hub in Ghana for not just Ghana but also the West Africa context. Defense cooperation will become an important item on the agenda and the critical minerals and the digital public infrastructure. Few MOUs, Memorandums of Understanding, are likely to be concluded, but we still do not have clarity as to which of those ... but our understanding is that negotiations are still ongoing in Ghana with our team. We have most probably in the Joint Commission, which will be renewed, traditional medicine in Ayurveda, the CEP (Cultural Exchange Program) renewed, and standards. But we will get details closer to the visit when it is being fine tuned.

Thereafter, I'm going to jump now to the last leg of the Prime Minister's visit to Namibia. That is another country that I deal with. Hon'ble Prime Minister will visit Namibia on 9th July, and this visit is also important. It's coming after 27 years. And the current president, who is Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, has assumed office in March this year ... which is why the visit happening so early in her tenure is very useful to renew the relationship, at the same time deepen our economic engagement with Namibia. The program will have a ceremonial welcome.

Prime Minister will pay homage to Dr. Sam Nujoma. There will be delegation-level talks, one-on-one discussions, and he will also address the Parliament. The substance of the relationship is again, as you know, that India and Namibia have a very strong relationship for a very long time. The historical context ... the independence struggle ... we recognized Namibia long before it got independence. We took up its cause in the UNGA in 1946, and also allowed to set up a diplomatic mission in India in 1986, even before it got independence in 1990.

The bilateral relations are very wide-ranging. Let me focus on the trade here. It is 600 million, marginally in favor of India. Our investments are about 800 million, mostly in mineral resources like zinc and diamond processing. You all are aware that India had taken a few Cheetahs from Namibia and relocated to Kuno National Park. That phase had very successfully been implemented. In the development cooperation area, the capacity building, defense cooperation, defense training of the personnel of Namibia, the Center for Excellence of the Information Technology that we have set up.

Then, most importantly, what is going to happen during the visit is the unified payment interoperability. The technology agreement being signed has already been entered between the Central Bank of Namibia and the NPCI. This will take forward, and that we believe is a very important development in our relationship.

Namibia is a very resource-rich country. It has natural resources of uranium, copper, cobalt, rare earths in large numbers, lithium, graphite, tantalum, and all of these are of interest to us. In the recent times, Namibia has also discovered new oil fields. There, again, is going to be a broad understanding on the partnership in hydrocarbons. Namibia is also keen to engage with us in agriculture and pharma, and we will be exploring India's low-cost solutions like DPI, Janaushadhi, traditional medicine, Ayurveda.

You have to understand, in a broader context, how important is partnering Africa. We have done the India-Africa Forum Summit 3 in 2015. We will be very soon doing India-Africa Forum Summit 4, and in that context, engaging with Africa with both individual countries and the EU are very important.

Africa, in recent times, has also evolved. It has become more aspirational. It wants manufacturing to happen in the country, and it wants value addition to happen in the country. The Africa-wide Free Trade Continent is another great opportunity to engage with Africa. So we have to keep this at the back of our mind, dealing with Africa. There are lots of opportunities, and we need to look at this with more keenness.

Let me now touch upon Honorable Prime Minister's visit to Rio. The 17th BRICS Summit is taking place on 6th and 7th. Honorable Prime Minister will arrive on the 5th evening, but the main program is on the 6th. As you know, the format is very clear. There are full members, which are 10. There are about 12 partner countries. There are eight invited countries at the Head of State, at the Government level, and there are seven heads of regional and multilateral bodies.

The theme of the Rio Summit is Strengthening Global South Cooperation for Inclusive and Sustainable Governance. The program on the sixth includes the first agenda item, the reform of the Global Governance, where only the full members will participate. And thereafter, there is the second item on the agenda, the peace and security, which is in the working lunch format, where the leaders will discuss the agenda item. And all of this will be captured in the leaders' statements, which will be seen as deliverables.

Post-lunch, the third item on the agenda is the strengthening multilateralism, economic financial affairs, and Artificial intelligence. Later that evening will be an official reception and all the leaders will be participating. The next day, which is on the 7th of July, the fourth item of the agenda is environment, COP30, and Global health. As you are aware, that Brazil will also be hosting COP30 later in the year, in November, which is why climate change and COP issues become very important.

As you know, the BRICS process is led by the Chair and they set the agenda, but the decisions are in a consensus-based format. We are hopeful that there will be four deliverables, although discussions are continuing still at the Sherpa and the Sous-Sherpa level. The leaders' declaration, the leaders' statement on global governance and artificial intelligence, the leaders' framework declaration on climate finance, and BRICS partnership for elimination of socially determined diseases.

There will also be in addition four reports that will be submitted to the leaders. One, the deliberations that happen during the National Security Advisors level, the Business Council meetings that would have happened before that, the Women's Business Alliance report, and the civil council report.

As you know, that all these discussions in the last few months across various platforms and working groups will find convergence in the declaration of the leaders, which will be endorsed by the leaders during that time. Both at the Sherpa and the Sous-Sherpa level, there have been intense discussions that have taken place. What we also notice that the Brazil's agenda more or less is encapsulating the ideas of the global south. And these are more or less in alignment with India's positions.

And lastly, India will be holding the chair of the BRICS next year, and which is why in this context, Honorable Prime Minister's visit is even more important. I pause at this stage, and if there are any questions later, we will come back.

Thank you very much. Over to you, Randhir.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Thank you, sir. I now invite Secretary (South) to brief us on Prime Minister's visit to Trinidad & Tobago. Ma'am, please.

Dr. Neena Malhotra, Secretary (South): Thank you, Randhir. Namaskar, and very good afternoon to all of you.

As you are aware, Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will be undertaking an Official Visit to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago from 3rd to 4th of July, 2025, at the invitation of Prime Minister H.E. Mrs. Kamala Prasad Bisessar (KPB). This marks the first visit by Prime Minister Modi to T&T (Trinidad and Tobago) as Prime Minister, and is the first Bilateral Visit by an Indian Prime Minister to T&T since 1999.

The visit comes at an opportune time, as this year, in 2025, the country is commemorating 180 years of the arrival of Indian immigrants to Trinidad and Tobago. This shared history forms the bedrock of our close and enduring people-to-people ties.

India was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with T&T following its independence in 1962. Our bilateral ties are rooted in shared democracies, pluralism, and a vibrant diaspora connect. Trinidad & Tobago is home to one of the largest Indian diaspora in the region. In fact, the Indian origin community in T&T comprises 40 to 45% of its population. I am told that currently both the President and Prime Minister are of Indian origin. Incidentally, both are women, both are lawyers, and both have a deep sense of pride in their Indian roots and heritage and describe themselves as daughters of India.

We in India also celebrate and admire their achievements. Both have been recipients of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, and our Prime Minister was the first foreign leader to congratulate PM KPB when she won the election in April 2025. She is the first female Prime Minister not only in T&T, but also in the entire Caribbean region.

The entire Indian community in Trinidad & Tobago is very enthusiastic about the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Modi, and a large diaspora interaction event is being planned during the visit.

During the visit, Honorable PM will hold high-level discussions with both President and Prime Minister, and the leaders are expected to cover the entire gamut of our bilateral relations, as well as regional, and multilateral aspects. PM KPB will also host a dinner for Prime Minister Modi.

India's development partnership with Trinidad and Tobago is robust and diverse. It includes capacity-building initiatives, grant-based projects, and healthcare initiatives. Both sides are now seeking to expand and diversify our cooperation into emerging areas, such as pharmaceuticals, tertiary care, renewable energy, digital public infrastructure, agriculture, and disaster resilience, in addition to innovation and technology.

We will also continue to focus on sports, academic, and cultural cooperation. A set of bilateral documents in different areas of cooperation are expected to be signed. In a special gesture, PM Modi will also address the joint session of the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago. The visit is expected to strengthen the bilateral partnership across key areas and reaffirm our enduring ties with the Caribbean.

I shall stop here, and will be happy to take questions later on.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Thank you, ma'am. I now invite Secretary (East) to brief us on Prime Minister's visits to Brazil and Argentina. Sir.

Shri P. Kumaran, Secretary (East): Thank you, Randhir. Thank you, and good afternoon, dear friends.

Secretary (ER) just mentioned about the BRICS portion of the visit to Brazil. I will try and add on to that by talking about the bilateral segment of the visit, which will be on... I'll start with Brazil, which will be on 8th of July. 6th and 7th will be the Rio segment for the BRICS summit.

As you know, Prime Minister has earlier visited Brazil on three occasions, the first in July 2014, followed by another visit in 2019 to attend the BRICS summit, and in November last year to attend the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.

During the state visit to Brasilia, Prime Minister is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with President Lula. The program basically includes a ceremonial welcome on arrival, followed by a restricted meeting and a delegation-level format talks, culminating with a lunch hosted by President Lula for Prime Minister Modi.

The state visit will provide an opportunity to review the entire gamut of our partnership, including trade and investments, oil and gas, renewable energy, mining and critical minerals, defense and security, agriculture and livestock, healthcare and traditional medicine, tourism, space, science and technology, DPI, and also sports and people-to-people relations in general. Both leaders will also be discussing during their talks global issues of mutual interest.

The visit will be a significant milestone in the India-Brazil strategic partnership and is envisaged to add renewed momentum to the strategic partnership, which we agreed to in 2006. On the trade front, India's trade with Brazil is the largest compared to any other country in Latin America. It had reached 16.6 billion in 2022-23, and following the drop in oil and gas prices, it is now around 12.2 billion, with India enjoying a trade surplus as we export goods worth $6.7 billion to Brazil and import goods worth $5.4 billion. Both leaders have set a bilateral trade target of 20 billion during their last meeting in November 2024.

During their forthcoming meeting in Brasilia, the two leaders are expected to discuss ways to strengthen and diversify bilateral trade, including through expansion of the India-MERCOSUR PTA, as Brazil will be holding the Chairship of MERCOSUR from 1st July 2025.

India and Brazil are strong proponents of Global South cooperation. We also collaborate closely across all global platforms, of which we both are members, including BRICS, G20, IBSA, and of course the United Nations. We also collaborate closely as members of G4, seeking comprehensive reform of the UN Security Council. We are looking at a few important bilateral MOUs and agreements, especially in renewable energy, agricultural research, and security cooperation. We'll give you more details during the course of the visit.

Let me quickly move to the Argentina part. Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, is visiting Argentina on 4th and 5th July on an official visit. PM has traveled earlier to Argentina for a G20 meeting in 2018, but this will be the first bilateral visit by an Indian PM in the last 57 years and is therefore historic.

As part of the program, the Prime Minister starts by paying respects at the statue of General José de San Martín, Argentina's revered freedom fighter and national hero. The Prime Minister will be accorded a ceremonial welcome. He'll have delegation-level talks, and it will be followed by a lunch hosted by President Milei for the PM. As you're all aware, Argentina is a strategic partner of India since 2019 and the two countries celebrated 75 years of diplomatic relations last year.

The Prime Minister's visit to Argentina comes at a particularly significant time as Argentina is undertaking major economic reforms somewhat similar to those India went through in the past. Both leaders will of course discuss subjects of economic and trade interest to further strengthen bilateral relations.

India's advancements in defense manufacturing, in space sector, in new areas such as information technology and DPI can offer valuable expertise and we can share experiences with Argentina. Our expertise in Telemedicine and Digital healthcare solutions are also an offer for Argentina in expanding access to medical services and improving overall quality and cost-effective healthcare delivery.

Argentina holds the world's second largest shale gas reserves and the fourth largest shale oil reserves along with of course substantial conventional oil and gas deposits, making it a potentially important energy partner for India in the future. Argentina's rich reserves of critical minerals such as lithium, copper and other rare earth elements complement India's growing need for secure and sustainable supplies to these elements for its clean energy transition and industrial growth. India's public sector, KABIL, has already won a few concessions in Argentina since 2024. Our leaders will be discussing more on this subject.

The visit is expected to further strengthen the strategic partnership and open new avenues of cooperation. These include trade and investment, health and pharmaceuticals, defense and security infrastructure, mining and mineral resources, agriculture and food security, green energy, ICT, digital innovation, disaster management, S&T, education and people-to-people linkages.

Thank you and I look forward to answering any questions you might have.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Thank you sir. We now open the floor for questions. We'll take a bunch of questions together.

Yeshi Seli, Business India: This is Yeshi Seli from Business India. I have two questions. Two of the five founding members of BRICS, their leaders are not likely to attend ... President Putin of Russia and President Xi Jinping of China. Is that going to impact the Joint Declaration?

And secondly, you're talking about UPI being introduced in Ghana, if I've heard correctly. How effective have the other UPIs been with the countries that we've launched them in? Because, especially in the neighborhood, they don't seem to be working.

Sidhant Sibal, WION: Hi, sir. Sidhant from WION. So how many bilaterals PM is expected to have on the sidelines of the summit in Brazil?

And my second question is that PM is going to five countries. And all of these five countries are part of the Global South. Two are from Africa, two are from South America, one from Caribbean. So what's the big message in terms of engagement with the Global South?

Madhurendra Kumar, News Nation: Sir Madhurendra Main News Nation se. BRICS ke Manch par Bharat ki taraf se aatankwad kitna bada Mudda hoga? Khas tour pe humne dekha hai ki SCO ke Manch par bhi ye ek vivad ka Mudda bana hua tha lekin aapko umeed hai ki BRICS ke Manch par aisa nahi hoga aur Bharat jis tarah se aatankwad ke Mudde pe prakhar hai apni niti ko duniya ke samne rakh chuka hai us par koi consensus waha dikhai dega?

[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi:Sir, this is Madhurendra from News Nation. How significant an issue will terrorism be for India at the BRICS platform? Especially since we have seen that it became a contentious issue even at the SCO platform. But do you expect that it won't be the case at the BRICS platform, and that there will be some consensus there — given how assertively India has already presented its policy on terrorism before the world?]

Sudhi Ranjan Sen, Bloomberg: Sir Sudhi Ranjan from Bloomberg, sir. On the Brazil BRICS visit, if you could elaborate on the four outcomes that we are expecting. Is there anything trade-wise or currency-wise that a discussion is possible there? More local currency trade or something on those sorts? And sir, both to you and to Secretary Kumaran. Sir, is there anything broad outline that you can give us on the critical minerals? What are the kind of agreements or understanding that we are looking for from these countries that we visit?

Suhasini Haidar, The Hindu: Suhasini Haider from The Hindu. Just to pick up on Madhurendra's question as well, are you expecting to see a specific mention of the Pahalgam terror attacks in the BRICS Leaders' Statement at the end?

The second question is, we saw that India disassociated itself from the SCO statement on Iran. It hasn't, however, disassociated itself from the BRICS statement on the Iran-Israel conflict recently. And I was just wondering if there was a reason why ... for the decision of one, not the other. Thank you.

Shri Dammu Ravi, Secretary (ER): Well, I think there are wide-ranging questions here. What I'll do is I'll try to not specifically answer each one of you. But I think I got a sense of what you're aiming at.

First, let's say the issue of the leaders not being there, which is the Chinese leader and the Russian leader. But, I think this is already known that Xi Jinping had been to that country a few occasions. Perhaps he's not going there. It's his decision. But I think irrespective of that, we'll have to be ... our solidarity with BRICS. I think Prime Minister's visit is an expression of India's solidarity with the BRICS. And we are going to hold the chair next year. So it's important to connect with leaders that will be there.

Now, look at the entire leadership. More or less, everyone has confirmed ... the full members, the partner country members, and the invited countries. It's a great opportunity for Honorable Prime Minister to connect with the leaders of the Global South, most of which will gather there. And there will be on the sidelines ... meetings, interactions with the leaders. And it's a great opportunity. We must look at it.

On the UPI, now, it's something new for many countries in the Global South. It's important to also understand the technology behind it. This is most countries ... as we travel across in Africa, first of all, to understand this concept will take time. When you execute it, it's a process. And an evolution of that process also will take time. But I think there's been a good success. I don't know the number, but I can say that more than 20 countries have entered into the UPI arrangement. But to get the mechanism operational, it will take time. It will also mean the capacity building on both sides, the ability of this country to absorb the technology and to use it. I think this is a process we should have some patience when it will finally be able to be effective.

In the meetings, Sidhant has asked about how many meetings in the Global South ... and five countries. Yes, I think it's a great opportunity. All the countries that Honorable Prime Minister is visiting are members of the Global South in some way or the other. And it's, again, a reiteration of the solidarity, where the more meetings with the Global South is better. Now, there is something which both sides should be able to learn from each other. One of those issues on the Global South not getting adequate attention in the multilateral fora, reform of the multilateral system. These are all very important.

Climate change, climate finance, artificial intelligence, the elements related to it, the ethical use of AIs, India's low-cost solutions, which is the digital public infrastructure. These are all very important. One needs to engage with each other to have convergence and consensus, and also adapt those solutions that are useful for countries in the Global South.

Now, terrorism, in the case, I'm not, I don't deal with SCO at this point of time, but I think, let me focus myself just on BRICS. There is no contradiction in the way the members have come out with their understanding, and their sympathy and their solidarity with India on Pahalgam.

I think this has been very well captured in the declaration. And all the members are very sensitive to this matter, and there is also a broader understanding in how to deal with this menace of terrorism, and there should be no one ... spared in dealing with it. I think that is very well captured, and I don't have to go into details. I think when you get the declaration out, you will see the language is much to our satisfaction there.

In terms of currency, local currency and trade, let me tell you that countries in the Global South are also looking for alternatives. Again, it's not a de-dollarization issue. The countries are also doing trade settlement in national currency. This has been going on for quite some time, but what's happening in the BRICS is precisely that. We are trying to bring in some understanding of how important it is to have alternative mechanisms in being able to do trading in the national currencies, and also to be able to do projects in the national currencies. Now, this is, again, a process. You know, countries will have to understand the mechanisms and how to do it. It's also not just the countries and the central banks, but also businesses have to plug in to this idea. So that's a process, and we are confident it will find traction more and more in the days to come.

In terms of critical minerals, again, the new technologies of the 21st century, all of them depend on critical minerals, and we have to be aware of the fact that these technologies of the 21st century, critical minerals are very, very important. We have to find ways to get bilateral understanding mechanisms to be able to capture that. And just not in the context of bilaterally, but also in terms of partner countries, partnering with many countries to be harnessing critical minerals, both in terms of the processes and acquiring these minerals around the world.

But I think, you know, Secretary (East) has already mentioned that we have achieved good progress in Argentina. And Africa is full of those minerals, and we believe that, you know, we have to be much more focused in being able to tap that resource in Africa. And I think KABIL and National Mineral Development Corporation, they're very much actively looking at opportunities in Africa, and I think in this context, Honorable Prime Minister's visit to both Ghana and Namibia become very important. These are areas where we believe there's a lot of opportunity, and we will be looking at it very closely.

On the Leaders' Statement on Pahalgam, I've already touched about it. Now, Iran, now this is a development that had happened very recently, where there again, all the leaders in the Sherpa and the Sous-Sherpa level were able to find convergence, and that language has been acceptable to all the members. What happened in SCO, I'm not able to tell at this point of time, but I think in terms of the developments, the geopolitical tensions in West Asia, that language is much to the satisfaction of all members at this point in time.

Thank you.

Shri P. Kumaran, Secretary (East): Let me also try and supplement something to what Secretary ER said, on critical minerals, particularly. You know, Argentina is a part of the Lithium Triangle, which comprises Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia. We are talking to all three of them.

We're also talking to Peru and Bolivia to try and acquire mining concessions that hold Lithium, Molybdenum, and other critical minerals that are useful for our green transition and for advanced manufacturing. Between KABIL and Coal India Limited, they have picked up four concessions in Argentina. Negotiations are ongoing. This is in Catamarca province of Argentina. There is an Argentinean PSU, provincial PSU called CAMYEN, with whom they are working, partnering to develop these sites and to pick up lithium from there, refine it, and then bring it into India for our purposes.

In addition, there is also private sector interest in rare earth minerals in Argentina. Green Co. of India and another Indian-owned company based in UAE called World Metal Alloys. They're also interested in investing in Argentina. They've also picked up one concession.

And there is, from what we have very, very recently ... there are other Indian companies also interested in picking up stakes in lithium mining companies and refining companies in Argentina. We hope to be able to share more details whenever they are available with us.

One short point on what Secretary (ER) said about UPI launches in other countries. In fact, UPI launches, we have been taking it at two levels. One is sharing the UPI model itself as it is with other countries. The other is to try and connect existing systems there with our UPI system through cross-border linkages. We've done that with Singapore. We're looking at Thailand, Philippines. We've also done that with France. I can tell you that with Singapore, it is working extremely well. I've tried it myself.

And the challenge with launching UPI in other countries is that there are a lot of associated challenges that come with just the source code. It's not a box that we give to other countries and it starts working the next day. There are regulatory capacity building requirements. There are legal adjustments that need to be done. All that needs capacity building and training people to pick up and run once the software is in place.

So, those are the reasons why it takes more time than you would normally expect. But we are on it. We are working with a lot of private sector partners, NGOs, et cetera, to try and push UPI solutions to help countries of the Global South enhance their citizen service delivery. Thank you.

Dr. Neena Malhotra, Secretary (South): Just wanted to add, I think most of the points have been covered by the two Secretaries. I just want to say that India has always been committed towards addressing the needs and aspirations of fellow developing countries. But in the last few years, in the last 10 years or so, our engagement has intensified considerably.

If you see CARICOM, in fact, the last visit of PM was seven, eight months ago to Guyana when we had the second India CARICOM Summit. So this visit comes within a span of eight months of that visit. And in between, we have had several high-level visits from Global South countries, particularly from South Central America as well as Caribbean.

We had, in fact, the visits by the Presidents of Peru and Chile. We had Foreign Minister of Honduras. We have had the Deputy Prime Ministers of Jamaica. And we also had a big India LAC conclave where we had 15 ministers from various countries. So there's a huge focus on the CARICOM and the Latin America part. And we are now diversifying our engagements into emerging areas.

So, this visit is basically a reaffirmation of our focus on the Global South. And it takes forward the process that we initiated with the Voice of Global South Summit during G20. And thereafter, we have had two summits already. So, we look forward to having more intense engagements with this region.

Huma Siddiqui, StratNews Global: Sir, I am Huma Siddiqui from StratNews Global. I have two questions. One, you talked about Brazil and you talked about defense in space. So is any defense deal expected to be announced or talked about during the visit?

And in the space sector, especially with Brazil, what is the status there?

And in Argentina, will there be any talk related to nuclear small plants ... reactors, sorry, and they were talking about it. So if there's any update on that?

Pranay Upadhyay, TV Today Network: Sir, Pranay Upadhyay from TV Today Network. My question is that in this foreign visit, how many countries Prime Minister would be receiving some awards and civilian awards and honors? So if you can list out.

Krishna Mohan Sharma, Bharat Express: Sir Krishna Mohan Sharma Bharat Express se. Mere do sawal hai, ek se juda hua hai. Jo Prime Minister ka visit hai aur jo BRICS mein hamari meeting hogi isme hamare aur kitne ministers sath ja rahe hain aur koi business delegation bhi hai kya hamare desh se.

[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi:Sir, this is Krishna Mohan Sharma from Bharat Express. I have two related questions. Regarding the Prime Minister's visit and our participation in the BRICS meeting — how many of our ministers will be accompanying him, and is there any business delegation from our country as well?]

Srinjoy Chowdhury, Times Now: Sir, during the visit to Argentina, which has faced terror attacks ... significant terror attacks in the 90s, do we expect a joint declaration on terrorism?

Secondly, perhaps one of the few countries in the world which has sent Army, Navy, and Air Force chiefs to India on visits is Brazil. And the Brazilians, during their visit here, expressed a lot of interest in Indian-made defense equipment, including artillery and so on. Now, the Brazilians are also keen on a swap because there appears to be a requirement for Embraer aircraft in India, and Brazil seems to be keen on exchanging the Embraer aircraft for Indian-made military equipment, like artillery and like other equipment. Could you tell us a little more about this, please?

Keshav Padmanabhan, ThePrint: Sir, thank you. Keshav Padmanabhan from ThePrint. Seeing that at least three or four of these countries are development partners, I just wanted to understand, are we looking at extending lines of credits to any of these countries during this visit? Are there talks for that? And if so, could you highlight the status of that?

And secondly, just to add on to the earlier question of local currencies, a discussion at BRICS, the reason is we've all heard from the US, questions about de-dollarization and strong statements against that. So how exactly is BRICS then looking at promoting local currencies, given the current geopolitical status? Thank you.

Manas, Press Trust of India: This is Manas from PTI Press Trust of India. Secretary, you just referred to the alternative mechanism for trade. So is India looking at a BRICS framework for this kind of use of national currencies for trade among the member nations? And is it going to be first of a number of possible steps before rollout of a BRICS currency in the foreseeable future or distant future?

And second quick question is, in fact, PM is visiting these five countries at a time when the Global South countries are nervous about various trade-related issues, including President Trump's trade policy. So what will be the big underlying theme for Prime Minister's visit to these five countries? Thank you.

Shri Dammu Ravi, Secretary (ER): Okay. Let me restrict myself to only BRICS because bilaterally there are other issues which two Secretaries may answer.

See, in terms of the awards, I have no clarity at this point of time, but I think, you know, Honorable Prime Minister is a global leader and a statesman. So any country ... naturally wanting to honor him. So at this stage, I have no clarity. So we'll leave it at that when the visit actually happens.

In terms of BRICS delegation, koi Ministers ja rahe hain Prime Minister ke sath wo to ye sawal to hum nahi bol sakte abhi tak lekin already Ministerial level ka jo working group level or ministerial level ka jo meeting ho chuka hai in the BRICS format mein. Business Council business delegation unka jo meetings hai fourth and fifth ko hoga uske baad jo unka jo deliberations hai wo sare declaration mein aayega, ek mauka bhi milega unko leaders ke sath milne ko on the sixth.

[Approximate Translation: Answer in Hindi:As for the BRICS delegation and which ministers will accompany the Prime Minister — we can't comment on that at this stage. However, ministerial-level and working group-level meetings have already taken place within the BRICS format. The Business Council and business delegation will have their meetings on the 4th and 5th, and their deliberations will be reflected in the final declaration. They will also have an opportunity to meet the leaders on the 6th.]

Otherwise, there are about 150 deliberations happening in the BRICS context. So, many of the tracks have covered ministerial dialogues, interactions ... and the business interactions have already been adequately covered. So, all of this will feed into the Leaders' Declaration.

In terms of LOCs, whether a new LOC is being offered. Now, the lines of credit, India, as you know, has extended to countries in the Global South ... quite enormous. Now our exposure to Africa itself, over USD 12 billion, the ongoing projects ... and concluded successfully many projects. The overall commitment of India is about $32 billion, both for the neighboring countries, Africa and the Global South, and a lot of it has been successfully concluded. And many countries who have received the lines of credit are grateful to us for the way this has helped them also in their own development agenda.

There are no requests at this point of time, but definitely countries, both in the context of Ghana and Namibia, they are keen to engage with India in their own value-added manufacturing units. Now how that will translate into, we will have to get into details when we sit on specific issues. Whether it will be LOC, it will be a grant, or it will be just a concession loan. Now that clarity will evolve as a follow-up to Honorable Prime Minister's visit, so we'll have to wait what shape it will take.

The local currency, I think a lot has already been covered, but let me be very clear in what I want to focus here. This is a track which is dealt with by the Department of Economic Affairs. So they take a lead and they take a decision as to how far we can engage collectively in the BRICS. But what is important for us to note is that many countries are already doing it. Whether in the BRICS context or bilateral context, countries are doing it. And why this is happening, and we have to understand that the geopolitical context, there is an economic angle. Countries of the Global South become more vulnerable when there are problems elsewhere in the world as well. So which is why the alternative formats and the methods that countries in the Global South want to use is very natural.

For example, trade settlement in rupee. We have tried with many countries and that effort is ongoing. Many countries in the BRICS are also doing it. But the idea of whether the national currencies are negating dollar utilization in the world, I don't think that we have to get into the debate of dollar versus national currency. Dollar will continue to exist in the global trade. It's the most dominant currency. I don't think there's a competition there. It's just that countries will look for alternatives and we have to appreciate their effort in the direction.

So Trump's trade policy, I don't want to get into it because that's completely a different area, which will require a huge ... a large session to come to some kind of understanding or no understanding at the end of it.

But the underpinnings of Honorable Prime Minister's visit, it's an excellent opportunity to reiterate our solidarity, our commitment to the Global South. Issues of the Global South that require a greater understanding and deliberation at the international level ... global level. This is, I think, is an opportunity. In all the countries that he will visit, there will be reiteration of the Global South issues and the need for reform of the multilateral institutions, the climate change issues, and low-cost solutions that India has successfully introduced in our own country and how these can be replicated elsewhere.

I'll pause at this point. Thank you.

Shri P. Kumaran, Secretary (East): Thank you. I think I had two questions. One about the Joint Declaration on counter-terrorism, if any, with Argentina ... whereas of now, there is no joint declaration planned with Argentina.

Argentina has supported us very strongly on counter-terrorism initiatives in all forums where we are both members and also in the UN. They've also issued a very strong statement supporting us on the Pahalgam terror attack. So we are fairly clear about where Argentina stands as far as our cooperation on counter-terrorism is concerned.

I think Ms. Huma's question about defense and nuclear cooperation with Brazil. Yes, there is going to be discussions on defense cooperation and enhancing it with Brazil. We are looking at avenues for joint research, technology sharing, and training exchanges. We're still talking about what kind of cooperation is possible, what kind of defense platforms we can sell to Brazil, but there is still not much progress made. But broadly, we have a few areas that seem to be of interest to the Brazilian side.

They are interested in secure communication systems on the battlefield. They are also interested in offshore patrol vessels, OPVs. Brazil has Scorpène submarines. They are interested in partnering with us in maintaining those submarines. They also seem to be interested in the Akash air defense system and in coastal surveillance systems, Garuda artillery guns, and so on. They're also interested in manufacturing defense industry joint ventures with us, joint R&D, of course, and co-development of systems.

Somebody had mentioned the Embraer platform. Yes, we do use the Embraer platform to develop reconnaissance systems, et cetera, on top of that. So there is a lot of potential for us to work with Brazil, given their strength in the Embraer and in the aircraft industry in general.

On nuclear cooperation, yes, there is interest. Both countries want to move away towards greener sources of energy, and therefore, there is a scope for partnership there. We also work together on biofuels. But on the specific issue of SMR, small modular reactors, I don't have anything. Both of us are looking to partner with other countries, in fact, to try and get SMR technology. So hopefully, we'll have something to share with you by the time the visit ends. Thank you.

Dr. Neena Malhotra, Secretary (South): Just two small points. There is no LOC proposal for Trinidad and Tobago. I may add that many of the Caribbean countries, including T&T, they have become high-income economies. So, per capita income of T&T is roughly $19,000. So according to our rules, LOC conditions may not be very attractive to them. But in the past, we have granted LOCs to some of the Caribbean countries.

Regarding Global South, the big message, as Secretary (ER) has already mentioned, that India has always championed the cause of human-centric development of fellow developing countries. And Trinidad and Tobago is a very important player in CARICOM as well as in SIDS (Small Island Developing States), which form a collective authoritative voice on climate change issues.

There's also an increasing convergence of reform of global financial architecture as well as global reform institutions. And I think all the countries appreciate the fact, all the CARICOM countries, as well as countries of the Global South, appreciate the fact that India has increased the focus on needs and priorities of the Global South. So that is one.

And I think, is there any other point I'm missing?

Yeah, about the awards, I think there is, as of now, no clarity. But as Secretary (ER) said, that our Prime Minister is a global leader. And in recognition of his achievements and his contribution towards advancement of causes of Global South, he has in the past been awarded in the Caribbean region.

In fact, last year, when he went to Guyana, he was given the award. Even countries such as Barbados and Dominica also have conferred their orders ... national orders on him. Thank you.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: So we'll take one last round. We have Manish, Rishikesh, Akhilesh, and Yeshi with those four will finish the round.

Manish Jha, TV9 Bharatvarsh: Sir main Manish Jha hoon TV9 Bharatvarsh se. EAM abhi Washington mein hai QUAD meeting mein bhaag lene ke liye. Prime Minister BRICS jaa rahe hain. Ab tak hum log bahut acche se balance karte aaye hain BRICS ko aur QUAD ko. Lekin BRICS ke particularly ek member ki taraf se ye narrative set kiya ja raha hai ki India is not a reliable partner. Kyunki wo West ka bhi sahyogi hai, toh trust factor kitna important hai BRICS ke is summit mein. Aur khaas karke jab ab Iran ka bhi issue aa gaya hai aur BRICS ke kai country ye dekh rahe hain ki India West ki taraf zyada bhi jhuk sakta hai. Thank you.

[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi:Sir, I am Manish Jha from TV9 Bharatvarsh. The EAM is currently in Washington to participate in the QUAD meeting. The Prime Minister is going to attend the BRICS summit. So far, we have managed to balance BRICS and QUAD very well. However, a narrative is now being set, particularly by one particular BRICS member, that India is not a reliable partner—because it is also an ally of the West. So, how important is the trust factor in this BRICS summit, especially now that the Iran issue has also come up and several BRICS countries feel that India might lean more towards the West? Thank you.]

Rishikesh Kumar, PTI: Sir Rishikesh from PTI. Sir, in April this year BRICS Foreign Ministers have failed to reach on consensus on Joint Statement. So what steps have been taken to resolve these differences? And now because terrorism is also becoming an issue. So are you hopeful of issuing this joint statement?

Akhilesh Suman, Doordarshan: Sir, I am Akhilesh Suman from Doordarshan. Actually this BRICS Summit is taking place at a time when there are so many conflicts in the world. And it includes some of the BRICS members. So do you think that BRICS can establish a dialogue mechanism so that these issues can be addressed by the BRICS members? Because, Americans and Europeans are already intervening. Do you have any plans for that?

Sridhar, Asian Age / Deccan Chronicle: Sir, Sridhar here from the Asian Age / Deccan Chronicle. Just wanted to know, out of the five countries, in three countries the Prime Minister would be addressing the Parliament of those countries. Is it just a recognition of the historical relationship that we have had with the Caribbean and Africa? Or is there a larger objective?

And also the BRICS, we had a very long campaign ahead, building up to our chairmanship of the G20. So the BRICS now being almost seen as a rival to the G7 and comprising 10 members already. Are we also looking at sort of a repeat of that process, so far as leadership of Global South is concerned? Thank you.

Yeshi Seli, Business India: This was on Embraer aircraft. You know, Embraer is already in talks with Indigo and Air India. Is there likely to be some kind of formalization of contract? Because these airlines, especially Air India, is very challenged because they don't have a fleet. So, can we expect something during the course of the summit or on the sideline?

Amiti Sen, The Hindu BusinessLine: Hi, sir. Amiti from Hindu Business Line. So recently we have seen a very fast expansion in BRICS membership. And there are lots of countries who are already in line, and there are talks of three or four who are up front. So what is the pace, and the ultimate size of expansion that India would be looking at and would be comfortable with?

Shri Dammu Ravi, Secretary (ER): You had a whole set of questions on BRICS. But again, as I said, I'll try and merge them and try and give some overview.

First of all, on the statement. I'll take the statement here. So the joint declaration, the leaders' declaration, has been in the making for quite some time. Negotiations have been taking place at the Sherpa and the Sous-Sherpa level for almost now six months. And all the deliberations at the ministerial level, working group level, have got into it. We're very confident that we'll be able to have a declaration. And that's India's constructive role. And all the members understand that it's important to have the leaders' declaration because that's also a success of not just the host, but all the BRICS members also need to reflect that sentiment. So keeping that in view, we are confident we will have a declaration.

The question about EAM's visit to Washington, QUAD, and India being perceived very differently closer to West, but I think these are perceptions. Perceptions of individuals and people will differ. India is a country that can play a meaningful and constructive role in every group. BRICS, G20, QUAD, everywhere. And I think that is important for us to understand because we are an important nation on the global stage. And what we say and how we articulate our views are very important in defining the outcomes.

So I see it's complementary. We can take up the issues of Global South in every forum and ensure that we are able to have constructive outcomes, keeping that in mind. So I don't see a competition here. And I see this also both in the context of G7, one of the questions that came. G7, G20 versus BRICS. It's not a competition. In my view, there is more of India can play an important balancing role in all the forums to ensure that the issues of the Global South, the ideas that we would like to present in all these forums, are able to find traction. So I'll keep that brief on how BRICS and other forums are.

Conflicts in the world... Yes, it is serious times we all are facing. The world is facing. And when there are conflicts, geopolitical conflicts and tensions, the countries of the Global South are the most, most affected. They become more vulnerable. Which is why it's important for us to have this kind of discussions, come back to the table with those items, and to find common understanding on how to solve them.

So the issue of the BRICS expansion, which Amiti has asked about, whether we are satisfied with this. I think you will have to see that the BRICS expansion is a very natural way it has happened. You know, 2010 / 9, when South Africa came in, there was a long gap after that for the new member countries wanting to come in. So then the expansion happened 2023. But that decision ... there's a background to it.

There were aspirations of many countries wanting to join BRICS. And it had evolved very naturally. Today, we are at full member countries at 10. But there are aspirational countries, the partner countries, another 12. But there are more countries lined up to become members. We don't know where this process will stop. I don't think, whether we will be comfortable or not comfortable is not the issue, because the decisions in the BRICS are consensus based. But what is important for us is also to see that the consolidation takes place first within the BRICS after the expansion, before you can talk about further expansion. I think that one is aware of most members at this point of time think ... that let us work towards institutional consolidation and strengthening before you talk about further expansion.

So I think on the parliament addressing in few countries with Honorable Prime Minister, but I think it's again a great honor to be able to talk to the leadership of those countries. And, you know, when Honorable Prime Minister is talking, he's talking not just the bilateral context, but also is putting the relationship in a broader perspective. And I think it's a great opportunity to be able to talk with the members of parliament in every country that he goes.

In the case of Ghana, there is an opportunity there and Namibia also there is one. And other secretaries will mention if there are others. So I'll pause here and let others speak. Thank you.

Shri P. Kumaran, Secretary (East): Thank you. Just as a matter of fact, there is no speaking opportunity for the Honorable Prime Minister at the parliaments in either Argentina or Brazil.

There was also one question from you on civil aviation cooperation opportunities on Embraer platforms. My understanding is that Embraer produces mostly regional jets, business jets or medium lift transport aircraft. These are not of immediate interest to us. Most of our carriers, I think the smallest plane that flies in India with budget carriers is A320, which is about 200 plus seater. Embraer doesn't produce aircraft of that capacity. So right now, it is more about collaborating for using Embraer platforms for our early warning systems and reconnaissance systems and using them to try and develop technologies that can be used for defense usages. So, that seems to be the current area of interest. Nothing to do with civil aviation right now, except perhaps small orders for business planes, etc.

Dr. Neena Malhotra, Secretary (South): Yes, PM is addressing the joint session of parliament in Trinidad & Tobago. I think it's just symbolic of our strong parliamentary traditions as well as democratic values. T&T also always had a very peaceful transition of power.

And it's somewhat special this time because both the President and the Prime Minister are of Indian descent. And both are women and who are achievers in their own way. I may add that the chair in the parliament, the speaker's chair in the parliament has been gifted by India, which is again a symbolic reminder of the strong democratic and parliamentary traditions between our two countries.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: With that, ladies and gentlemen, we come to the close of this session. We'll keep you updated as the visit progresses. Thank you very much.

New Delhi
June 30, 2025