The President of China Xi Jinping and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil have arrived South Africa for the opening of the BRICS summit.
Da Silva arrived Johannesburg on Monday with his wife Rosangela “Janja” da Silva, while Xi was in South Africa earlier, state media said.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa was seen welcoming the Chinese President at the OR Tambo airport Johannesburg in an online footage.
Xi’s visit to South Africa is his second international trip in 2023 after his trip to Russia in March. He had visited South Africa in 2018 in his effort to strengthen China’s economic and diplomatic ties with Africa.
Xinhua news agency reported that “Chinese President Xi Jinping left Beijing on Monday for the 15th BRICS Summit to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, and a state visit to South Africa.”
The attending heads of state of Brazil, India, China, and top Russian diplomat will converge for the summit between August 22 and 24 under the subject “BRICS and Africa”.
President Vladimir Putin had revised his decision to attend the summit in person after questions made the rounds about his possible arrest by the South African government on the order of the International Criminal Court (ICC) over his role in the Russia-Ukraine war.
The agenda for the summit will possibly include the future expansion of BRICS membership, among other topics.
Several African countries including Egypt, Algeria, and Ethiopia have earlier indicated their interest to join the bloc.
The group has invited 69 countries including all African states to this week’s BRICS summit.
BRICS is a bloc that seeks to counterbalance the domination of Western economies. Its name is derived from five countries, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
The joint gross domestic product (GDP) of the group represents 23 percent of the world’s GDP, and their population represents 42 percent of the world’s population.
