New Delhi: Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Delhi on Friday morning (Sept. 11) on a three-day state visit to attend the 18th BRICS Summit and to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the aim of expanding bilateral trade, investment, and energy cooperation. Putin is accompanied by a high-level delegation.
This is the first time since the Ukraine war began in February 2022 that Putin is attending a BRICS Summit in person outside Russia.
The 18th BRICS Summit in Delhi is set to begin on Saturday (Sept. 12) and will be held over two days.
India is leading the two-day BRICS summit, which begins on Saturday and includes 11 major economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia.
The summit is expected to focus on enhancing collective capacity in food, energy, health, disaster reduction, and critical supply chains. India is positioning the grouping as an effective force in dealing with a fragmented geopolitical environment.
This summit is being held in New Delhi amid the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war, the West Asian crisis (especially the possibility of the Strait of Hormuz being blocked), and the Trump administration’s trade and tariff policies on the global economy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Delhi on Friday morning (Sept. 11) on a three-day state visit to attend the 18th summit of the BRICS grouping and to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the aim of expanding bilateral trade, investment, and energy cooperation.
A high-level delegation has accompanied Putin.
Deputy Minister of External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh welcomed Putin and the high-level delegation upon their arrival at Delhi airport.
Welcoming the Russian leader, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that India and Russia have multifaceted and long-standing relations based on a special and privileged strategic partnership.
The Ministry of External Affairs said in a social media post that India and Russia have long-standing, multifaceted relations based on a 'special and privileged strategic partnership'.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Putin are set to hold extensive bilateral talks on Friday afternoon.
The meeting is expected to discuss ways to enhance cooperation in various sectors, including security, energy, technology, pharmaceuticals, and people-to-people exchanges.
Modi and Putin met and spoke during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit held in Bishkek last week; at that time, Prime Minister Modi, who urged an immediate end to the conflict, asked the Russian leader to move "from an endless war to a situation that brings the war to an end."
