New Delhi
As the 18the BRICS Summit begins in Bharat Mandapam on Saturday the world leaders attending it have already warmed up to each other at their interactions on the sidelines of the BRICS Business Forum held on the eve of the summit.
The world’s who is who is in Delhi and the most highlighted image of the event was Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian walking hand in hand alongside President Putin and South African president Cyril Ramaphosa. All of them are in a jovial mood.
On Friday evening Prime Minister Modi met the Masoud Pezeshkian before the start of the summit.. He said, “From Bishkek to Delhi, the productive discussions continue.”
From Bishkek to Delhi, the productive discussions continue.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 11, 2026
Happy to have met Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian, the President of Iran. This visit is more special because it is his first visit to India.
We talked about the India-Iran friendship. We believe that we should move forward… pic.twitter.com/DtxWuhB9Ba
PM Modi said, “This visit is more special because it is his first visit to India. We talked about the India-Iran friendship. We believe that we should move forward with a long-term and win-win strategy. The prevailing situation in the region was also discussed. India remains steadfast in its commitment to the pursuit of enduring peace”.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is on his way to New Delhi to attend the Summit, is expected to hold a crucial bilateral meeting with PM Modi.
Xi's entourage includes Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, and Wang Yi, Chinese foreign minister and a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, the Chinese news agency said.
According to a Xinhua report Xi Jinping is expected to advance proposals on Global South cooperation at the BRICS summit much as he did during the SCO Summit in Bikshek.
The report stated that both groupings -- BRICS and SCO -- have expanded their membership and networks of developing partners. Their members together represent more than half of the world’s population and about 30 per cent of the global economy.
However, it was Russian President Vladimir Putin who raised the pitch for a multipolar world and sort of set the agenda for the Summit through his speech at the BRICS Business Forum. He revealed that Russia has been hit with over 30,000 sanctions, more than double the total restrictions slapped on all other countries in the world combined, as he condemned global economic coercion and "ugly" competitive tactics.
Delivering his remarks at the Leaders' Session of the BRICS Business Forum in the national capital, Putin lashed out at Western nations for turning trade and diplomatic pressure into state-level interference.
"More than 30,000 sanctions have been slapped on Russia which is twice as much as the number of all sanctions against all other countries of the world combined," President Putin said.
In a veiled attack against the US, Putin detailed how trade conflicts have escalated into extreme geopolitical disruptions, emphasising the blockade of transport corridors, destruction of pipelines, illegal restrictions and the threat of possible "so-called secondary sanctions" targeting countries that don't abide by "someone else's interest."
Pointing to economic performance as evidence of resilience, he added, "During the last 3 years, the economic growth in Russia has been superior to the world average."
Prime Minister Modi has already held a bilateral meeting with Putin and he is expected to meet other leaders on the sidelines and after the Summit.
World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived in India on Saturday for the BRICS Summit 2026.
Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres underscored the significance of multipolarity and the need to reform multilateral institutions, including the UN Security Council, to reflect contemporary realities in the current and ever-changing world during their meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in the national capital.
The two day BRICS Summit begins in New Delhi in which besides the BRICS member countries Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. 10 BRICS partner countries are participating, bringing the total to 21 countries represented at the summit.
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The 10 partner countries are Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
