Kuppusamy Annamalai, the President for BJP in Tamil Nadu. Kuppusamy Annamalai, the president of BJP in Tamil Nadu. Picture: Timothy Bernard / African News Agency (ANA)
Durban – The ANC has been invited to send a delegation to India at the request of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) following a successful BRICS political parties dialogue, that was held in Ekurhuleni recently.
The BJP is the world’s largest political party with membership exceeding 100 million and they were represented in South Africa by four senior members.
Kuppusamy Annamalai, the president for BJP in Tamil Nadu, said the political party dialogue, led by ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula had discussed crucial issues, including multilateralism.
“After those discussions we said we must look at how we take the ANC partnership to the next level, especially with our Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi coming to South Africa for the BRICS summit in August.
“We have requested the ANC to send a delegation from South Africa to visit the BJP in India.”
Annamalai was speaking on Thursday at the Shri Mariammen Temple in Durban at an event jointly organised by the HINDASA Foundation and temple chairperson Seelan Archary.
“For all the global problems, many are looking to India for solutions as there is a shift taking place in geopolitics.
“Everyone is looking at India because no country is as complex as ours. Because of India’s complexity, it is able to offer solutions to many of the global problems,” he said.
Annamalai said India’s recently becoming the most populous country on the planet was being viewed as an opportunity to strengthen the economy with a large population providing the necessary manpower in the many industries.
“In the seventies we looked at the large population with concern…how do you feed so many people?
“Now, the whole of India is very optimistic and we will strengthen the fabric of the country.”
The political party dialogue resolved that BRICS countries and those of the global South should seek to diversify and transform the international financial architecture towards greater inclusivity and equity, including through the New Development Bank (NDB) and encouraging more local currencies financing.
Parties also said they remain committed to further strengthening the cooperation mechanisms of BRICS, which range from finance and economics to science, politics, and cultural exchanges.