New Delhi [India], October 9 (ANI): Algeria is a strong contender in the second wave of BRICS expansion, but the process would require the consensus of all member nations, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Wednesday ahead of President Droupadi Murmu's visit to the African nation.

India is also exploring avenues for trade in local currencies, promoting UPI to enhance cooperation with African nations.

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"Our effort has always been to bilaterally engage, to get them to do trading and settlements in local currencies. This process is on. It will not happen overnight because there are technical issues, the country's willingness, and the community's interest - so it's a process," MEA Secretary (ER) Dammu Ravi said in the press briefing today.

Ravi emphasised the successful engagements with some African countries while acknowledging that others are still in the process of adaptation.

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"They are keen to look at alternatives and trade settlements in alternative currencies. UPI, for example, will become very attractive for many countries, so it's a work in progress. We should be able to engage with them more deeply on these concepts, particularly national currency trading and UPI," he added.

Being asked about whether Algeria, Mauritania, and Malawi have shown interest in joining BRICS grouping, the MEA Secy said that it is a process and all member nations have to agree for it to happen.

"This is a process. The expansion of BRICS is a process, and it started off during the chairship of South Africa last year, and some countries could get in. The process of expansion is based on consensus; all the countries will have to agree," he explained.

While Algeria was not part of the first wave of expansion, Ravi indicated that it remains a strong candidate for the second wave.

"For some reason or another, Algeria was not part of the first wave of the expansion, but it is very much a candidate in the second wave. So we'll have to see how it goes. It's just not India that's supporting it; all the member countries will have to take a call as to who can come in this expansion of BRICS," he added.

The BRICS Summit is scheduled to be held in Kazan, Russia later this month.

Notably, five new nations -- Saudia Arabia, Egypt, UAE, Iran and Ethiopia -- became part of the BRICS grouping last year during the summit in Johannesburg.

Being asked on concerns with Algeria and Mauritania, being members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) -- a group which has time and again taken 'anti-India' stand -- MEA said that both nations are aware of India's position.

"Both at the Mauritania and Algerian level, we have taken up our concerns, and both are sympathetic and are very much aware of our position on the issues that come up with the OIC. We have generally found support from both countries on the matters that are sensitive to us," MEA Secretary (CPV and OIA) Arun Chatterjee noted.

Chatterjee reiterated the evolving nature of defence collaboration between India and Algeria. "Defence is an evolving area of cooperation between India and Algeria, and it has been found to be a prospective field where both sides can cooperate," he said. The focus is currently on organising training programs for Algerian defence personnel in India and facilitating senior defence-level exchanges.

"We are looking at exchanges of visits at senior defence levels, defence exports from India to Algeria, and we can have cooperation at think tank levels to discuss research and other defence areas. We can have seminars between the defence personnel," Chatterjee explained.

Additionally, he mentioned the possibility of bilateral joint exercises, whether at the naval level or involving armed forces, emphasising the potential for greater collaboration. "These are the areas we are looking at at this moment, and hopefully, we should be able to concretise them in the coming days."

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Laos from October 10-11, where he is set to attend the 21st ASEAN-India Summit and the 19th East Asia Summit, being hosted by Laos, which is the current Chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

"The State Visit by President Murmu to Algeria, Mauritania and Malawi is reflective of India's deep desire to strengthen its partnership with countries in Africa. It comes a year after the African Union was made a permanent member of G 20 during India's Presidency," the MEA added. (ANI)

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