India
oi-Madhuri Adnal
The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday rejected social media reports claiming that several world leaders fell ill after attending the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, calling the reports “fake”.
The ministry’s fact checking unit flagged the posts on X and warned people against sharing what it described as “malicious” content.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs debunked fake social media reports claiming world leaders fell ill after attending the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, specifically refuting health concerns raised about South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“Fake Alert!!! 🚨🚨🚨 We caution against such malicious posts on social media platforms!” the ministry said.
The warning came after reports emerged about South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s health following his return from India.
What happened to Cyril Ramaphosa?
The Presidency of South Africa said Ramaphosa had stepped back from public engagements after returning from the BRICS Summit on Monday. The 73 year old president was advised by his doctors to rest because of ill health.
“The Presidency wishes to advise that, due to ill health, President Cyril Ramaphosa is currently booked off from public engagements,” it said.
Ramaphosa has since been resting on medical advice. His ministers will attend some of the engagements he was scheduled to participate in, where possible.
“Where possible, the President has asked the respective Ministers to represent him at scheduled public engagements,” the Presidency said.
South African Deputy President Paul Mashatile is also currently away from public engagements while recovering from a minor medical procedure.
“On the advice of my doctors, I will continue resting until advised otherwise while work and delegated responsibilities continue to be underway in the capable team in my office with other stakeholders in government, business and other sectors,” Mashatile said.
The health updates involving South Africa’s top two leaders were followed by a series of unverified social media claims about other BRICS leaders.
One such claim suggested that Chinese President Xi Jinping had left the summit early because of medical reasons and returned to China on a special plane. The MEA’s fact checking unit has dismissed the reports about multiple world leaders falling ill after the summit as fake.
BRICS Summit in New Delhi
The BRICS Summit was held in New Delhi on September 12 and 13, with India hosting the expanded 11 member grouping.
India hosted the summit under the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”. Leaders discussed conflicts, global security, trade and other international issues during the meeting.
In its New Delhi declaration, the grouping expressed concern over the risks of nuclear conflict and called for international disputes to be resolved through dialogue, consultation and diplomacy.
The declaration also called for greater multilateral cooperation while acknowledging that member countries have different positions on major global issues.
Trade tensions also featured in the declaration. Without naming specific countries, BRICS leaders criticised what they called “unilateral coercive measures” and raised concerns about punitive and protectionist trade policies.
“We oppose unilateral, punitive, discriminatory and protectionist measures that are not in line with international law,” the declaration said.
The statement also raised concerns about measures such as carbon border adjustment mechanisms, saying they could add to the difficulties faced by developing countries dealing with the effects of climate change.
