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Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in New Delhi ahead of a meeting of BRICS group leaders, with global conflicts and economic challenges likely to set the tone for the weekend.
Putin landed in the Indian capital on Friday, where he was greeted by Indian Minister of External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh and a welcome party flanked by photographers.
The two-day summit is expected to see the 11-member organisation focus on the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as oil and global trade.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is also set to attend from Saturday to Sunday, in what would be his first visit to India since 2019.
“It is fully expected that the conference will feature positive and meaningful discussions on various issues, conducted with a view to global welfare,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote in a post on social media on Friday.
“With the virtuous, one may debate and share friendship; with the unvirtuous, one should have no dealings whatsoever,” he added.
Modi is scheduled to hold talks with Putin later on Friday as the Indian leader looks to build on one of New Delhi’s most important strategic relationships.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is also due to arrive on Friday amid the ongoing Iran war.
Harsh V. Pant of India’s Observer Research Foundation said the Gulf conflict would likely be “the central fault line this time during the BRICS summit.”
“What was seen until last year as an achievement — the expansion of BRICS — today looks like a big constraint on BRICS,” Pant added.
The BRICS group markets itself as a forum for 11 “emerging markets and developing countries” – Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.
The first BRICS summit was held in 2009 in Yekaterinburg, Russia. The group has since expanded and also now includes 10 “partner” nations, namely Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.
Additional sources • AFP