PM Modi, Jaishankar laugh out loud as South African Prez says 'You are a country that...'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar shared a delightful moment during a BRICS meeting on Thursday. duo was seen letting out a chuckle as South African President Cyril Ramphosa quipped about rich wildlife of his country. 

dressing PM, Ramphosa said that India can count on its partner in case it faces a dearth of cheetahs. "So should you need more cheetahs, you have come to home of cheetah," he said with pride. To this, PM Modi and Jaishankar were seen bursting into laughter and clapping in agreement. "You are a country that takes care of big cats," President continued. 

His remarks came as a reference to 20 cheetahs that South Africa sent to India as part of latter's attempts to revive animal's population. According to a memorandum, South Africa will translocate 12 cheetahs to India each year for next dece. 

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra in a press briefing said: "He (PM Modi) spoke of something which is deeply at heart of South Africa and many African countries, protections of big cats, five big ones in South Africa under International Big Cat Alliance. He established something important for all BRICS countries, a repository of tritional medicines among BRICS countries."

What happened at BRICS? 

Meanwhile, South Africa hosted 15th edition of BRICS Summit this week. It was attended by PM Modi, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. One of key highlights of event was inclusion of six new nations to group, namely, Egypt, Argentina, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and UAE. 

move was lauded by PM Modi. Taking to X, he wrote, "On occasion of 15th anniversary of BRICS, we have taken decision to expand this forum. India has always fully supported this expansion. Such an expansion will make BRICS stronger and more effective. In that spirit, India welcomes Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and UAE into BRICS family." After attending summit and meeting top South African leers across various sectors, PM heed to Greece for a one-day visit aimed at enhancing bilateral ties.