‘Grateful for India’s support’: Envoy on Argentina’s invitation to BRICS

By Ayushi Agarwal
New Delhi [India], August 25 : Argentina’s envoy to India, Hugo Javier Gobbi has praised India's role in the expansion of BRICS and said that his country's inclusion in the group would not have been possible without India's support.
“It is a great success and honour for Argentina to be accepted as a member of the BRICS grouping. We know that we can make an important contribution to it. We are very committed on this issue and we are very grateful for India’s support. We would not have managed to join the grouping if it wasn’t for the very strong backing we received from India," said Gobbi in an interview to ANI here.
He also noted that the accomplishment is bilateral, underscoring the joint efforts of both nations in securing Argentina's membership in the grouping.
“I think it’s a bilateral success. It is a success for both of our countries that Argentina joins the grouping”, he added.
Highlighting the significance of Argentina being a part of the expansion along with other countries, the envoy stated that his country would add different dimensions to the bloc.
“The significance is very large. Because you are incorporating countries from Asia, Africa, Latin America and countries that have played a significant role regionally and that are very diverse and that will add different dimensions to the BRICS grouping as a whole”, said Gobbi.
“Argentina as you know is a very rich resource country. It is a major agricultural producer. It also has a significant technological base in the nuclear sector, the space sector in IT. So, Argentina can add a significant dimension to the BRICS and to the cooperation within the grouping”, he added.
On Thursday, the five-member BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) invited six more countries to join the alliance including Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, and Ethiopia at the 15th BRICS summit at Johannesburg.
India took the lead in forging consensus on membership criteria and in the selection of new members for the BRICS grouping during the Leaders’ Retreat, according to the sources.
As per the sources a significant development took place in BRICS expansion during the Leaders’ Retreat on Tuesday.
In his address at the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg on Thursday, the Prime Minister said that India has always supported the expansion of BRICS and has always believed that adding new members will strengthen BRICS as an organisation.
He also expressed confidence that working together with these new members will give a new pace and energy to BRICS cooperation.
Gobbi also highlighted the significant achievement of the Chandrayaan-3 Mission and the developing cooperation between India and Argentina in the field of space.
On the success of the Chandrayaan-3 Mission, the envoy said that ‘it’s an enormous achievement and that both India and Argentina are developing cooperation in the space area’.
Confirming the participation of the Argentine President in the upcoming G20 summit that will take place in New Delhi in September, Gobbi said that ‘The President of Argentina will participate with a very significant and high-level delegation’, adding that ‘India is playing an incredible role in pushing forward the global south agenda’.