PM Modi's five-nation tour likely to focus on defence cooperation, Africa outreach, and multilaterals
Defence, rare earth minerals, cooperation on counter-terror and south-south cooperation will be among the focus areas during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's July 2-9 five-nation tour covering Ghana, Trinidad and Tobago, Argentina, Brazil, and Namibia.
Officials here announced that during the visit to Brazil, the two sides are expected to take up defence production and cooperation, as Brazil has displayed interest in the technology for more secure communication and India's Akash surface-to-air missile system that was used during Operation Sindoor.
'Broadly, we have a few areas that seem to be of interest to the Brazilian side. They are interested in secure communication systems on the battlefield. They are also interested in offshore patrol vessels (OPVs). Brazil has Scorpene submarines—they are interested in partnering with us in maintaining those submarines. They also seem to be interested in the Akash air defense system and in coastal surveillance systems, Garuda artillery guns and so on,' said P. Kumaran, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs.
The discussion on defence cooperation between Brazil and India is expected to take place during July 5-8 when Prime Minister Modi will visit Rio De Janeiro and Brasilia. The highlight of the Brazil visit will be Mr. Modi's participation in the main session of the BRICS summit on July 6, when member countries will discuss 'Reform of the Global Governance'.
Other items at the summit will be 'Peace and Security', 'Environment, COP 30 and Global Health', strengthening multilateralism, economic and financial affairs and Artificial Intelligence.
Discussion at the level of National Security Advisers, business council meetings, women's business alliance and civil council-level talks will find convergence at the declaration of the leaders, said Dammu Ravi, Secretary (Economic Relations) of the MEA. He added that India will hold the BRICS chair in 2026.
Prime Minister Modi's visit to Argentina will mark the first full-fledged meeting between him and Argentina's President Javier Gerardo Milei. The two leaders met earlier on the sidelines of multilateral events. Defence, rare earth minerals, agriculture, traditional and renewable energy, and trade and investment are expected to feature in India-Argentina talks this time. In the BRICS meeting in Brazil and Argentina, India is expected to reiterate its concerns on cross-border terrorism.
Mr. Modi's first stop will be Ghana, where he will be hosted on July 2-3. This will be followed by his visit to Trinidad and Tobago on July 3-4, which will be followed by his visit to Argentina. The last stop in his tour will be Namibia, where he will pay tribute to Namibian decolonisation icon Sam Nujoma, who passed away on February 8.
An agreement on unified payment inter-operability is expected to be signed during Prime Minister Modi's visit to Namibia. 'Africa in recent times has evolved. It has become more aspirational. It wants manufacturing to happen within the countries and it wants value addition to happen within its countries,' Mr. Ravi said.
Mr. Modi's visit to Ghana is taking place at a time when the African nation is undergoing economic restructuring under the newly elected President John Dramani Mahama. Agriculture, building a vaccine development hub in west Africa, critical minerals, digital public infrastructure, and renewal of cultural exchange programmes will be among the 'focus' areas during Mr. Modi's visit to Ghana, Mr. Ravi said.
Mr. Modi's visit to Trinidad and Tobago will be the first Prime Minister-level visit from India since 1999. 'The visit comes at an opportune time as this year when the country is commemorating 180 years of the arrival of Indian immigrants to Trinidad and Tobago,' said Neena Malhotra, Secretary (South), who highlighted the fact that Trinidad and Tobago is being led by Indian-origin Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who was presented with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman in 2012.
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