NEW DELHI: India on Saturday clarified that it did not participate in a South Africa-initiated multilateral naval exercise involving several BRICS countries, asserting that the drill was not an institutional activity of the grouping.The week-long exercise, held in South African waters, saw participation from the navies of China, Russia, Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, among others. India’s absence from the manoeuvres had triggered questions, especially as the exercise took place amid heightened tensions in Iran following its crackdown on anti-government protests.Responding to media queries, ministry of external affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the exercise was “entirely a South African initiative” and did not have the formal backing of BRICS as a grouping.“We clarify that the exercise in question was entirely a South African initiative in which some BRICS members took part,” Jaiswal said. “It was not a regular or institutionalised BRICS activity, nor did all BRICS members take part in it.”He added that India has not participated in previous editions of such exercises either.“The regular exercise that India is a part of in this context is the IBSAMAR maritime exercise that brings together the navies of India, Brazil and South Africa,” Jaiswal said, noting that the last edition of IBSAMAR was held in October 2024.India is currently the chair of BRICS, which was originally formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The grouping expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the UAE, with Indonesia joining in 2025.BRICS has emerged as a significant multilateral platform, representing around 49.5 per cent of the global population, approximately 40 per cent of global GDP and about 26% of global trade.
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