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The High Commissioner of South Africa to India, Anil Sooklal, has expressed excitement over India's upcoming chairmanship of BRICS, which is set to begin in January 2026. Sooklal praised India's energy and leadership, citing its successful G20 presidency as an example.
When asked about India's BRICS chairmanship, Sooklal said that the chairpersonship came at a critical time in the world community's current situation. Sooklal said, "As the BRICS family, we are very excited by India's chairmanship of BRICS starting first of January 2026 because we know the energy that India brings to the table. We saw that during the G20 presidency in India, and I expect the same kind of energy to be brought to the table by India." "India is taking the BRICS chairmanship at a very critical time. The global community is, in many senses, at an inflexion point and in need of leadership. India at present is one of the few countries with a positive trust factor in its favour with both countries of the global north and countries of the global South," he added. He further denounced the fact that trade has been weaponised in a way that has adversely impacted BRICS. "It's unfortunate that trade has been weaponised in this day and age, and BRICS countries are being severely impacted, including India and South Africa, which face 50% tariffs, which are impacting people's livelihoods. It's driving more people into poverty, and it's impacting the development of our countries," he said. Sooklal said that BRICS cannot be ignored now, as it addresses several global issues, including terrorism, which has recently reared its "ugly head" in Delhi. "Today, you cannot ignore BRICS, and in many senses, BRICS is surpassing entities of the Global North. BRICS is not just about the global South, because all of these issues that we address has to do with the global community as a whole, whether it's the global financial challenges we have the global economy in terms of peace and security, including terrorism, and how we collectively address the scourge of terrorism that's reared its ugly head here in Delhi a few days ago," he said. He further stated that he was confident India would work closely with South Africa to ensure a successful summit. "We're very confident that India will work very closely with the presidency of South Africa to ensure a successful summit, a substantive Summit, even though we may not have a full house in terms of attendance, but as I have said, we are confident that South Africa will host a successful summit, and with our partners like India, a substantive outcome," he said. India will host the 18th BRICS Summit in 2026, assuming the presidency on January 1. (ANI)
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