Mahatma Gandhi, Chandrayaan, cheetahs and traditional medicines - President Ramaphosa reacts to PM Modi's address at BRICS Summit

Modi is on a three-day visit to attend the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg from August 22-24 at the invitation of President Ramaphosa.

The role of Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa’s liberation from colonialism; congratulations on the Chandrayaan 3 mission, a promise of more cheetahs for India and the commonality of traditional medicines came under the spotlight as President Cyril Ramaphosa reacted to the address by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the BRICS Summit here on Wednesday.

Modi arrived here on Tuesday on a three-day visit to attend the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg from August 22-24 at the invitation of President Ramaphosa.

“We would like to thank you as South Africa, particularly for reminding us of the journey that Mahatma Gandhi started here in South Africa and what he imparted to our forebears in South Africa on the modes of struggle,” Ramaphosa said.

Praising Gandhi's contributions during his days in South Africa, Ramaphosa said, "Gandhi was one who was strong on resistance. He taught us passive resistance which he perfected and we escalated to various acts of boycotts against the apartheid system. Through that, we were able to encourage citizen activism in organisations that were involved in our struggle, like the African National Congress and others".

"(It) mobilised our people against apartheid and finally defeated it, so Mahatma Gandhi played a very important role in the history of South Africa," Ramaphosa said.

Modi had referred in his address to the fact that the Summit was taking place not far from where Gandhi had established Tolstoy Farm as a vibrant self-sufficient commune during his tenure as a lawyer in Johannesburg while he was in South Africa.

Ramaphosa also commented on the imminent landing on the moon of Chandrayaan 3 in reaction to Modi’s call for the BRICS countries to cooperate in space exploration.

"We would like to congratulate India, particularly as you speak about the need for cooperation in space. In a few hours, India’s spacecraft Chandrayaan 3 will be landing on the moon. We congratulate you. This for us as the BRICS family is a momentous occasion and we rejoice with you and join you in the joy of this great achievement. We also thank you for making the proposal that there should perhaps be a BRICS space cooperation system which is a very forward-looking proposal," the President said.

Responding to Modi’s plea that more should be done to preserve the big cats by all countries, Ramaphosa referred to the donation of cheetahs to India earlier this year to reintroduce the species there.

"We were pleased as South Africa to donate cheetahs to India and you informed me that the cheetahs arrived well and are alive in India and I told you that we are willing and prepared to donate even more because you are a country that takes care of big cats," Ramaphosa told Modi.

"So, if you need more cheetahs, you have come to the home of cheetahs," he added.

Modi also proposed a repository for traditional medicines used across BRICS nations.

"We have a very big community of people who are involved in traditional medicine here in South Africa, so we are willing to cooperate in it and I am sure the same obtains with all other members of BRICS. You will find great support from all of us to create a traditional medicines repository."

Ramaphosa said that to continue healing all ailments, citizens should not just be dependent on Western medicines, but also on their own traditional medicines.