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. The duo was seen letting out a chuckle as South African President Cyril Ramphosa quipped about the rich wildlife of his country. 

Addressing the 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 the 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," the President continued. 

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

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

#WATCH| Johannesburg: "He (PM Modi) spoke of something which is deeply at the heart of South Africa and many African countries, the protections of the big cats, the five big ones in South Africa under the International Big Cat Alliance. He established something important for all… pic.twitter.com/uLBuALITu4

— ANI (@ANI) August 24, 2023

What happened at BRICS? 

Meanwhile, South Africa hosted the 15th edition of the 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 the key highlights of the event was the inclusion of six new nations to the group, namely, Egypt, Argentina, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. 

The move was lauded by PM Modi. Taking to X, he wrote, "On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of BRICS, we have taken the 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 the BRICS family." After attending the summit and meeting top South African leaders across various sectors, the PM headed to Greece for a one-day visit aimed at enhancing bilateral ties.