NEW DELHI, Sep 11: Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi on Friday for a three-day visit to attend the 18th BRICS Summit and hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on strengthening bilateral cooperation in trade, investment and energy.
Putin is leading a high-level Russian delegation during his visit.
“Warmly welcome President Vladimir Putin of Russia for the 18th BRICS Summit,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X, adding that the Russian leader was received at the airport by Minister of State K V Singh.
Jaiswal said India and Russia share “multifaceted and longstanding ties” anchored in a Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership.
Putin's visit marks his first in-person participation in a BRICS summit outside Russia since the Russia-Ukraine conflict began in February 2022.
The two-day BRICS summit, hosted by India from Saturday, is expected to focus on strengthening collective resilience in areas such as food and energy security, healthcare, disaster risk reduction and critical supply chains.
New Delhi is also seeking to position BRICS as an effective platform for navigating an increasingly fragmented geopolitical and economic environment.
The summit comes amid significant global economic challenges arising from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the crisis in West Asia, including disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz, and the trade and tariff policies of the Trump administration.
Several prominent leaders are expected to attend the summit, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali and Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung.
Putin and Modi are scheduled to hold wide-ranging bilateral discussions on Friday afternoon.
The talks are expected to cover key areas of cooperation, including defence, energy, technology, pharmaceuticals and people-to-people exchanges.
