External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar will represent India at the BRICS virtual summit hosted by South Africa on Tuesday, where the leaders of Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa, will discuss the situation of West Asia, including the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
The “Extraordinary Joint Meeting on the Middle East Situation in Gaza” will be hosted by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to draw up a common response and adopt a joint statement on the more than six-week long conflict.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who’s been calling for an immediate ceasefire, will also join the meeting. This will be the first BRICS meet since the Summit in August that resulted in expansion of the group. Leaders from Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates – who are all due to join the BRICS group in January 2024 – will also attend the meeting.
