BRICS India 2026: PM Modi to hold fifteen bilateral meetings; to meet Putin, Pezeshkian today, Xi Jinping tomorrow

Prime minister Narendra Modi is set to have an action-packed schedule for bilateral meetings over the course of the next three days.

A total of fifteen bilateral meetings have been scheduled with the visiting dignitaries on the sidelines of BRICS 2026 Summit in New Delhi.

How do the meetings stack up?

The first bilateral meeting scheduled to take place today is with Russian President Vladimir Putin who arrived in New Delhi earlier today.

PM Modi will hold bilateral talks talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping at 5:45 pm tomorrow.

According to the details shared by the ministry of external affairs, PM Modi will meet Putin at 3:30 pm today. This will be followed by bilateral meeting with Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian at 6:15 pm today. After that PM Modi will meet UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

Russian President Vladimir Putin landed in New Delhi on Friday for a three-day visit to India ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit. He was received by Union Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh. Putin is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and address the BRICS Business Forum during his stay.

The BRICS leaders’ summit will be held in New Delhi on September 12 and 13 under India’s chairship, as the grouping marks its 20th anniversary. Putin’s visit is expected to give fresh momentum to the India-Russia strategic partnership, with trade, cross-border payment mechanisms and energy security likely to feature prominently in the Modi-Putin talks.

What is on the agenda for India-Russia talks?

Defence cooperation is expected to remain an important part of the broader India-Russia relationship. Russia’s Su-57 stealth fighter could figure in discussions, while Moscow has also expressed interest in expanding cooperation with India in emerging areas such as rare earths.

The economic relationship is likely to receive particular attention as both countries explore mechanisms to facilitate trade and payments despite geopolitical pressures and Western sanctions on Moscow.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday called for an accelerated India-Russia economic and industrial partnership, with the two countries working towards $100 billion in bilateral trade and $50 billion in two-way investment by 2030.

Six bilateral meetings of PM Modi are lined up for tomorrow. PM Modi will hold bilateral talks with Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed Ali, Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Le Minh Hung, and Prime Minister of Socialist Republic of Vietnam. On Sunday, PM Modi will hold bilateral talks with the presidents of Kazakhstan, Philippines, Egypt, South Africa, Republic of Burundi, Nigeria, and Uganda.