Putin Arrives in New Delhi for BRICS Summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi early Friday ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit, landing at Palam Air Force Station where he was received by Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh. The visit opens a two-day gathering hosted by India on September 12 and 13, bringing together leaders and senior representatives from the bloc's 11 members, partner countries, regional organisations and major international institutions. Putin's itinerary begins Friday with an address to the plenary session of the BRICS Business Forum, followed by a bilateral summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a joint tour of the Innoprom industrial exhibition, co-hosted by the trade ministries of India and Russia. On the summit's sidelines, Putin is scheduled to meet counterparts including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. No formal full-format meeting has been arranged with Chinese President Xi Jinping, though a pull-aside exchange on the margins is widely expected.