New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Matemala Cyril Ramaphosa had a telephone conversation on Saturday and discussed bilateral cooperation including in BRICS.

The two leaders reviewed bilateral, regional and global issues, including cooperation in BRICS. The two leaders reviewed progress in bilateral cooperation, which is anchored in historic and strong people-to-people ties, the Prime Minister's office said in an official release today. The foreign ministers from the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) recently met in Cape Town to attend the meeting from June 1-2. The bloc's current chair, South Africa hosted the BRICS foreign ministers conference in the South African capital.

During the conversation, Prime Minister Modi thanked the South African President for the relocation of 12 Cheetahs to India earlier this year.

They also exchanged views on a number of regional and global issues of mutual interest, including cooperation in BRICS in the context of South Africa's chairmanship this year, the official release read.

PM Modi was briefed by President Ramaphosa on the African Leaders' Peace Initiative. The PM reaffirmed India's persistent demand for dialogue and diplomacy as the best course of action, noting that India supported all efforts to secure long-lasting peace and stability in Ukraine.

During India's current G20 Presidency, President Ramaphosa expressed his complete support for its initiatives and expressed excitement for his upcoming trip to India. The two leaders agreed to remain in touch.