Kashmir Impulse Desk
New Delhi, Sep 11
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa arrived in New Delhi on Friday for a two-day BRICS summit that begins on Saturday.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Ugandan Vice President Jessica Alupo and Nigerian Vice President Kashim Shettima were also among the leaders who reached the Indian capital.
India is hosting the 18th BRICS summit at Bharat Mandapam on Sept. 12 and 13, having assumed the group’s chair on Jan. 1.
The 2026 summit also marks 20 years since the establishment of BRICS.
India has chosen “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability” as the theme for its chairship, reflecting Modi’s emphasis on a people-centric approach and “Humanity First”, the foreign ministry said.
BRICS was originally formed by Brazil, Russia, India and China, with South Africa joining later. The grouping expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, while Indonesia joined in 2025.
Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam became partner countries last year.
The grouping now brings together 11 major emerging economies and accounts for about half of the world’s population, around 40 percent of global GDP and roughly a quarter of global trade, according to Indian government figures.
Putin is on a three-day visit to India and is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Modi alongside the summit.
Pezeshkian, on his first visit to India as president, is also expected to hold talks with Modi on strengthening bilateral ties and trade.
His visit comes amid heightened tensions in West Asia and new US economic measures targeting Iran.
Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and officials from several other BRICS countries have also arrived in New Delhi.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, New Development Bank President Dilma Rousseff and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank President Zou Jiayi are also attending the summit.
