BRICS Summit: President Murmu To Host World Leaders; PM Modi, Putin Bilateral In Delhi

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has departed from Tehran to attend the BRICS Summit. A crucial bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Pezeshkian is scheduled to take place at 6:15 PM this evening. During the discussion, Prime Minister Modi is expected to reiterate the need for peace in West Asia. This follows a previous interaction between both leaders two weeks ago on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, where India articulated a message advocating for peace and emphasizing that ongoing conflict cannot persist.

India and Russia continue to strengthen bilateral ties across key sectors including energy, nuclear power, trade, and space technology, with a mutual bilateral trade target of 100 billion dollars set for 2030. Ahead of the BRICS summit, bilateral deliberations focus on critical geopolitical developments, including the safety of seafarers in conflict zones across the Black Sea and the Strait of Hormuz. Heightened security concerns regarding strategic maritime choke points, particularly around the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, Gulf of Aden, and the Suez Canal, pose serious risks to international commerce and energy exports. Furthermore, global economic shifts demonstrate the emergence of rapidly developing power centres across the Global South, particularly in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Amid regional conflicts, diplomatic engagements highlight the necessity of dialogue, peaceful resolution, resilient supply chains, and the protection of international sea lanes of communication.

Preparations are complete at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi as India hosts the 18th BRICS Summit alongside a series of high-profile bilateral engagements and the BRICS Business Forum. Diplomatic discussions kick off with key bilateral talks scheduled throughout the evening, setting the stage for wider multilateral deliberations with world leaders representing the Global South. Concurrently, the BRICS Business Forum and industrial exhibitions are underway to boost economic partnerships, enhance bilateral trade cooperation, and address trade deficits. With hundreds of preparatory meetings held and multiple outcome documents formulated under the chairship, the summit focuses on collective growth, strategic dialogue, industrial collaboration, and long-term economic engagement among participating nations.

Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to India is being viewed as a significant opportunity to provide a fresh boost to bilateral relations following his last visit in 2019. The upcoming engagements build upon diplomatic progress and recent Special Representative-level discussions aimed at resolving boundary disputes. While bilateral cooperation within multilateral frameworks like BRICS continues on global governance and Global South development, India maintains cautious optimism across trade and investment. Key priorities for India include safeguarding peace and tranquility along the border, sustaining robust military deployment and infrastructure buildup across Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh post-Galwan, and addressing regional concerns regarding the Medog infrastructure project on the Brahmaputra River to ensure downstream hydrological security.