Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to New Delhi later this year to participate in the BRICS Summit being hosted by India under its 2026 chairmanship, the Kremlin has confirmed.

According to a post shared by the Russian Embassy in South Africa on X, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said that Putin is scheduled to attend the BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12 and 13.

The visit will mark Putin’s second trip to India within a year. He had earlier visited the country in December 2025 for the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit.

Earlier this month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited India to attend the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 14.

During the meeting, Lavrov briefed Modi on developments in bilateral cooperation since the last annual summit and discussed key regional and global issues, including the conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia.

Speaking at a press conference in New Delhi later, Lavrov said Modi had reaffirmed his plans to visit Russia later this year. He added that Moscow remains committed to strengthening its “privileged strategic partnership” with India across multiple sectors.

“We are preparing for the BRICS summit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday reaffirmed that this year it’s his turn to make a visit to the Russian Federation. We will be preparing for this top-level summit,” Lavrov said.

BRICS currently includes 11 major emerging economies — Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates. The grouping serves as a platform for cooperation on global political, economic and governance-related issues.

READ MORE: Dr Sofia Banu’s mission to make science serve society

India’s BRICS 2026 chairmanship is being guided by the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”, highlighting a people-centric and sustainability-focused agenda.