As Prime Minister Narendra Modi is gearing up for the BRICS Summit 2024, India has called for a ceasefire in thewar between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The Indian Government has expressed its concern over the escalation of conflict in West Asia. It has also appealed toHamas for the release of hostages against Israel.

Notably, this statement comes ahead of the meeting of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshikian on the sidelines of the 16^th BRICS Summit in Russias Kazan.

Prime Minister Modi is likely to engage in bilateral talks with the Iranian President on Tuesday. He will begin his official engagements in Kazan with a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

About BRICS Summit

The 16^th Brics Summit is taking place in Kazan, Russia from October 22, 2024, to 24, 2024. This would be a significant event, taking place with the aim of enhancing cooperation and addressing pressing global issues.

Participants of the Brics Summit: Brazil, Russia, China, India and South Africa

New Members: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates are participating for the first time.

Goals of the Summit

• Reinforcing unity among emerging markets and global southern nations
• Expanding Brics influence with the inclusion of new members, especially key oil-producing nations.

Key Leaders Attending the Summit

• Russia: President Vladimir Putin
• India: PM Narendra Modi
• China: President Xi Jinping
• South Africa: President Cyril Ramaphosa
• Egypt: President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi
• Ethiopia: Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed
• Iran: President Masoud Pezeshkian
• UAE: President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
• Brazil: President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

Agenda of the Summit

• Multilateralism and Global Stability: The summit will comprise discussions on enhancing multilateral cooperation and addressing global challenges.
• De-dollarization: It will be focused on reducing reliance on the US dollar in international trade and finance.
• Brics Pay: It will introduce a new financial system to facilitate transactions between member countries serving as an alternative to the SWIFT system.

This time the event is likely to mainly the situation in Gaza and Israel. The meeting will dominate the international agenda with both Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian and Palestines leader Mohammad Abbas.

According to Indias foreign secretary Vikram Misri, Our stance on West Asia has been consistent and firm over a long period. We have explicitly condemned acts of terrorism and at the same time, as the conflict has grown and, in a sense, expanded, we have called for a cease-fire, and release of hostages.

Also for guarding against an expansion of the conflict that would pull more and more actors and make the issue more complicated to resolve, it is important to get back to dialogue and diplomacy, he further added.