Putin in New Delhi: Modi meeting, BRICS Summit on agenda

Russian President Vladimir Putin is in New Delhi to attend the 18th summit of BRICS nations starting Friday.

Putin held a bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the afternoon at the Bharat Mandapam convention center. He is also expected to hold talks with other leaders of the extended BRICS group.

The summit of the leaders of the world’s emerging economies is being watched closely, given intensifying geopolitical tensions and economic turbulence caused by the West’s attempts to isolate Russia and coerce the Global South.

RT reporters are on the ground in New Delhi covering the Russian president's visit and the BRICS Summit.

Modi and Putin have agreed to remain engaged in an effort to “strengthen further the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between the two countries, which continues to register significant growth and has shown resilience in the backdrop of geopolitical uncertainties,” the Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Putin invited Modi to visit Russia for the 24th India-Russia Annual Summit, which the Indian PM accepted. The dates of the summit will be decided later.

At his meeting with Putin, Modi reiterated that dialogue and diplomacy was the way forward in resolving conflicts and that India stood ready to assist in peace efforts, the Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It added that the two leaders shared perspectives on key regional and global issues of mutual interest, including the conflicts in the Middle East and Black Sea region, which have impacted maritime trade and the safety and security of Indian seafarers.

PM @narendramodi held wide-ranging discussions with President Putin on various aspects of the India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership.The leaders reviewed progress in bilateral cooperation in sectors including trade, energy, defense, space and people to people… pic.twitter.com/Ml2dOMIvwZ

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian are on the stage at the BRICS Business Forum. It is the largest business forum of the BRICS grouping ever, Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal says.

After the visit to INNOPROM. India, Putin will now address the BRICS Business Forum at the same convention center. Other national leaders who are in New Delhi for the BRICS summit are also arriving at the center to attend the forum.

Modi is scheduled  to meet with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian after this.

Vladimir Putin and PM Modi attend INNOPROM exhibition in New Delhi https://t.co/ayoWgDgvQupic.twitter.com/vKa9jXlzp6

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are now touring INNOPROM. India, Russia’s international industrial fair being held in India for the first time. More than 120 Russian and Indian companies are present at the event, organized as part of an effort to expand bilateral trade and investment.

⚡️PM Modi & Putin Walk & Ride Side By Side To Check Out INNOPROM.India #BRICS2026#BRICSIndia2026#IndiaBRICSChairshippic.twitter.com/Wu8vxEK77I

The Putin-Modi meeting took place at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, where the INNOPROM. India trade fair is ongoing.

The meeting was their second in less than two weeks, after the two leaders met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on August 31.

Modi and Putin have now left Bharat Mandapam and are traveling back in the same car.

Modi presented Putin with the Thirukkural, a classical Tamil text of 1,330 short, two-line poetic couplets, written by the poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar.

⚡️ Key 2026 Moment: Putin & PM Modi Meet For Bilateral On BRICS Sidelines In New Delhi The pair share another friendly hug and handshake as the two break the record for the frequency of meetings between leaders of the two nations. Both Putin and PM Modi met just last week at… pic.twitter.com/cGCqXFRjAW

The much-awaited Modi-Putin meeting is on!

READ MORE: RT India launches news service in Hindi RT Hindi went live earlier this week, nine months after RT India launched its English-language television channel. The charge d’affaires at the Russian Embassy in New Delhi, Roman Babushkin, listed artificial intelligence, the Arctic, and space as priority areas for deeper bilateral cooperation, beyond the traditional pillars of defense and energy. And Babushkin did this while speaking Hindi!

Modi and Putin are expected to discuss progress toward the ambitious $100 billion bilateral trade target they set in December, sources told RT. They are also expected to discuss strengthening civil nuclear cooperation, mobility for skilled Indian workers in Russia, cooperation in critical minerals, and sustaining the growing cooperation on fertilizers. The meeting will take place soon.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is in New Delhi for a three-day visit to attend the 18th BRICS Summit in the Indian capital.

Putin’s plane touched down early on Friday, and he was welcomed by an honor guard before leaving the airport in his Aurus presidential limousine.

His flight was preceded by three Russian IL-76 planes, carrying advance teams and military officials to review preparations and security arrangements, which landed on Thursday morning.

The Modi-Putin meeting is scheduled for Friday afternoon.

The relationship has grown beyond energy, defense, and space, to industrial cooperation and joint production, AI, labor mobility, and tourism.

And geopolitics is unavoidable, considering the current state of the world.

Here is a deeper look at the issues likely to come up in the talks. 

📸 Putin & PM Modi Spotted Together On Streets Of New Delhi (On a billboard ahead of their much-anticipated bilateral on the BRICS sidelines).Stay tuned. pic.twitter.com/lcisa0qSlh

In December, when Putin last visited New Delhi, the leaders set two hard growth targets – corporate style – for the relationship: $100 billion in trade by 2020, and $50 billion in investments.

Trade turnover has since grown, Putin said last month. “It is rising this year, and this is due in part – and perhaps above all – to the efforts of the prime minister, Narendra Modi, who gives the development of Russian-Indian relations close personal attention,” Putin told Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar in Moscow.

The India-Russia priority investment tracking mechanism is actively monitoring 40 projects across advanced manufacturing, energy, mining, railways, and emerging technology, Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal told the plenary session of the INNOPROM. India trade fair on Thursday in New Delhi.

This is progress toward the $50 billion investment target.

Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov and Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met in New Delhi to discuss financial cooperation, with a focus on maintaining stable payment and settlement mechanisms to support growth in trade, investment, and broader economic ties. The two sides also discussed preparations for an intergovernmental agreement aimed at promoting and protecting investments between Russia and India.

❗📹 🇷🇺's Manturov, 🇮🇳's Nirmala Sitharaman Discuss India-Russia PaymentsThe duo discussed stable payment mechanisms and an investment protection agreement in New Delhi.Rupees and rubles now account for 96% of India-Russia bilateral trade, according to Sberbank India. pic.twitter.com/Sk9DvclbDz

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has arrived in New Delhi for the 18th BRICS Summit, marking the first visit to India by an Iranian president since 2018. Pezeshkian is set to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi later on Friday. The two leaders last met on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Bishkek on August 31, where they discussed bilateral ties, trade, developments in the Middle East, and cooperation within BRICS and the SCO. The Iranian leader is also expected to take part in the BRICS Business Forum.

Iran's president Pezeshkian arrives in Delhi for BRICS summit and talks with India's PM Modi pic.twitter.com/Prl3tleJQ1

In a sign of how bilateral economic ties are expanding beyond energy, Russian aviation companies stole the show at INNOPROM. India, the first Indian edition of Russia’s flagship international industrial exhibition.

READ MORE: Indian regional airlines to buy 105 Russian planes Russian plane maker UAC on Thursday reached agreements with three Indian domestic airlines to sell up to 105 Il-114-300 regional jets. Plans to jointly produce the planes are also progressing. UAC and India’s state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited are also negotiating the localization and production of SJ-100 regional jets, UAC CEO Vadim Badekha said.

Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met with Uruguayan Foreign Minister Mario Lubetkin in New Delhi on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit. Uruguay holds the rotating presidency of the 33-member Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). India and Uruguay have stepped up engagement in recent months, with New Delhi appointing its first resident ambassador to Uruguay earlier this year.

Delighted to welcome FM Mario Lubetkin ​​@MinLubetkinUy in New Delhi today. A good conversation on advancing our ties including in trade, connectivity and culture. Agreed on a focused roadmap to that end. Appreciate Uruguay’s support for deepening partnership with CELAC and… pic.twitter.com/HA8sZiAgOg

READ MORE: BRICS 2026: Who’s coming and what’s on the agenda? This is the 18th summit of the BRICS nations. The BRICS grouping has grown considerably from its original five members: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. It now also includes Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia.

BRICS has emerged as a major grouping because of its economic weight and population size. Together, they now account for nearly half of the world’s population, around 40% of global GDP, and 26% of international trade, according to Indian government data. Here is a quick look at who’s attending and what’s on the agenda.

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