BRICS: Why India’s PM REFUSED to exit plane after landing in SA

Somebody call Andy Cohen (only Real Housewives fans will get the reference) because a Reunion Special could be on the cards after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi refused to exit his aircraft when in touched down at the Waterkloof Air Force Base to attend the 15th BRICS Summit.

As we know, Modi eventually joined other world leaders, but it took some effort by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

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BRICS SUMMIT: THE DRAMA FOLLOWING MODI’S ARRIVAL

According to Daily Maverick, Narendra Modi was not impressed with the fact that only a Cabinet minister had been sent to welcome him to South Africa as he had been expecting Ramaphosa himself on the tarmac ahead of the BRICS Summit. After being informed about the incident, Ramaphosa then sent Deputy President Paul Mashatile to greet Modi.

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IS XI JINGPING GETTING SPECIAL TREATMENT?

The fact that his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping got the red carpet treatment from Ramaphosa might not sit well with Modi.

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Ramaphosa had personally gone to greet Xi when he landed in Pretoria. He then held extensive talks with him ahead of the actual BRICS Summit. Well, it seems all that cosying up to Xi worked as China then donated a whopping R650 million to help South Africa tackle the load shedding crisis.

“South Africa deeply appreciates China’s support in addressing our current energy challenges. This includes the donation of emergency power equipment worth R167 million and availing a grant of approximately R500 million as development assistance,” Ramaphosa said.

Ramaphosa had previously said he hopes the energy crisis is addressed by 2024.