South Africa Prez Cyril Ramaphosa wanted to share seat with PM Modi amid BRICS Summit in South Africa
South Africa Prez Cyril Ramaphosa wanted to share seat with PM Modi amid BRICS Summit in South Africa
With the $75 million Chandrayaan-3 Moon mission been acclaimed by space agencies and governments across the world and, as External Affairs Minister
S Jaishankar made it known to a popular news channel on Tuesday that old it also prompted several positive reactions from BRICS leaders amid events in Johannesburg.
The South African President Cyril Ramaphosa who hailed
the landing as his country’s own proudly declared that following the landing he expressed his desire to share next to Prime Minister Modi so that Chandrayaan’s ‘good vibes’ “rubs off” on him.
Jaishankar added that by the time they reached the retreat, there was some talk on Chandrayaan. The following day August 23, the day of the landing they did a morning session and then the PM left to join ISRO (via a video link)… by the second day, even within BRICS talk had shifted to Chandrayaan.
Jaishankar further added that he was in a room attending a BRICS event as Vikram was landing with a big screen in the corner. It was difficult to talk without getting distracted
At some stage the foreign said, you are looking like Chandrayaan up there (pointing to the screen.
He thanked people, but , by then, it had seeped into peoples’ imagination and, that evening, he said that we were at a BRICS Plus event. Amongst around a 50 other countries’ prime ministers and presidents and the speech which President Ramaphosa gave on Chandrayaan was like a collective feeling.
“In fact, he said, he is going to sit next to PM Modi pinning hopes that it rubs off on him.
Earlier, the Prime Minister had given a briefing to other BRICS leaders following Vikram’s landing, in which he had thanked Ramaphosa for his congratulatory messages, and saying that his friend Ramaphosa has heaped praises for India’s Moon mission. Since yesterday, he has been feeling this.
After thanking Ramaphosa,
PM Modi said that It is a matter of pride for them that this success is being accepted not as a limited success of one country but as a significant success of mankind.
Reportedly,Jaishankar stressed on the “collective feeling” of joy that Chandrayaan-3 had evoked and said, that sentiment was very strong and. at one stage, he remembered that there was a long U-shaped table with 100-150 people seated. People spontaneously got up so the PM had to walk down the length of table to individually accept congratulations.
Chandrayaan-3’s successful landing on the Moon meant India joins a select group of nations – the others are Russia (then the Soviet Republic), the United States and China – to have completed a soft landing on the lunar surface; landing site was also closer to the Moon’s South Pole than any other.
Vikram has since successfully also deployed the six-wheel Pragyan rover, which is deploying scientific payloads and instruments to gather crucial data from the Moon’s surface and atmosphere before the lunar night which lasts for 14 Earth days kicks in and forces India’s Moon mission to conclude.
News Edit K.V.Raman
