NEW DELHI, Sep 11 (Alliance News): Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in India on Friday for talks ahead of the 11-member BRICS summit, with wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, global trade tensions and energy challenges expected to dominate discussions.
The two-day annual summit opens on Saturday, with Chinese President Xi Jinping also due to arrive. The gathering brings together leaders from major emerging economies as the expanded BRICS bloc faces growing divisions over regional conflicts and global economic issues.
Xi’s visit will be his first to India since 2019 and represents the latest step in a cautious improvement in relations between the two Asian powers, six years after a deadly military clash along their disputed Himalayan border.
Flights, visas and high-level contacts between India and China have gradually resumed, although disputes over their contested frontier, a widening trade deficit and strategic rivalry continue to weigh on bilateral ties.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is due to hold talks with Putin later on Friday. Moscow remains one of New Delhi’s key strategic partners.
India has also relied on Russia to help manage energy pressures linked to the Iran war, despite international criticism of its continued energy ties with Moscow amid the war in Ukraine.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is also expected to visit India on Friday and hold talks with Modi.
Gulf conflict poses challenge for BRICS
The Middle East conflict is expected to be one of the central issues at the summit, particularly after BRICS expanded to include Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have differing positions on the conflict involving the United States and Israel.
The war in the Middle East could test the cohesion of the expanded BRICS grouping, analysts said, particularly after the bloc’s foreign ministers failed to agree on a joint statement during their meeting in New Delhi in May.
United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is also expected to attend the summit, along with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
BRICS was established in 2009 as a forum for major emerging economies seeking greater influence in international institutions traditionally dominated by Western powers. The grouping has since expanded to include additional countries from the Middle East and other regions.
India maintains relations with both Iran and Israel while also seeking to preserve its strategic partnership with the United States, placing New Delhi in a delicate diplomatic position as the regional conflict intensifies.
Ukraine war also on agenda
The war in Ukraine is another major issue confronting the BRICS grouping.
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visited Kyiv this month, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed appreciation for India’s support for efforts to end the conflict.
The summit will also take place against a backdrop of global trade turbulence and concerns over oil supplies, adding economic pressure to an already complex geopolitical agenda.
With leaders from countries holding sharply different positions on major international conflicts, the summit is expected to test whether the expanded BRICS bloc can find common ground on issues ranging from war and energy to trade and global governance.
