India will soon be a 5 trillion dollar economy: PM Modi

Johannesburg: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that India will be the growth engine of the world in the coming years. Addressing the BRICS Business Forum Leaders' Dialogue in Johannesburg, South Africa last evening, the Prime Minister said that despite economic turmoil in the global economy, India today remains the world's fastest-growing major economy. He expressed confidence that India will soon be a five trillion dollar economy.

 

Prime Minister Modi reached South Africa today to attend the 15th BRICS Summit. On his arrival, Mr Modi was given a ceremonial welcome at the airport. Prime Minister Modi was received by Deputy President of South Africa Paul Mashatile. After receiving a grand welcome, Prime Minister Modi interacted with the members of the Indian diaspora who had gathered to welcome him.

 

The theme of BRICS Summit is BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism. The BRICS grouping comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. BRICS represent over 42 percent of the global population, 23 percent of world GDP, and 18 percent of global trade.

 

During the three-day Summit which concludes on Thursday, deliberations will be held to forge



partnerships to effectively deal with the climate change situation, strengthen mechanisms for knowledge creation and exchange, boost trade, investment and infrastructure development between BRICS and African countries, achieve the 2030 agenda on sustainable development, and strengthen multilateralism.

 

Prime Minister Modi will also participate in BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue event that will be held as part of the BRICS Summit activities in Johannesburg.

 

Earlier, in his departure statement, Mr Modi said, the Summit will provide a useful opportunity for the grouping to identify future areas of cooperation and review institutional development. Mr Modi said, India values that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system. The Prime Minister said, he is also looking forward to holding bilateral meetings with some of the Leaders.

 

From South Africa, the Prime Minister will travel to the Greek capital Athens, at the invitation of Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Mr Modi said this will be his first visit to the ancient land.