BRICS Summit India LIVE: Modi-Putin bilateral expected soon in Delhi; China says meeting with Xi being arranged

BRICS Summit India LIVE: Nigeria's vice president Kashim Shettima has arrived in India to attend the BRICS Summit 2026.

BRICS Summit India LIVE: A bilateral meeting between PM Modi and Russia's Putin is expected to be around 3:30pm today.

Putin's visit marks his first in-person participation at a BRICS summit outside Russia since the war in Ukraine began in February 2022.

BRICS Summit India LIVE: More than 600 business-to-business meetings took place at the BRICS Business Forum in New Delhi within a few hours on Friday, news agency ANI said in a report. Business leaders called for fewer restrictions and practical measures to boost economic cooperation.

Anant Swarup, Secretary General of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), said the forum brought together 2,000 delegates, including 1,100 from India and 900 from other countries. He said businesses were using the event to seek new partnerships.

BRICS Summit India LIVE: External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Friday held talks with Uruguayan foreign minister Mario Lubetkin in New Delhi ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit. The two leaders discussed ways to strengthen ties between India and Uruguay.

“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 MERCOSUR,” Jaishankar posted on X.

BRICS Summit India LIVE: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrived in New Delhi on Friday ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit 2026.

He was received by minister of state for education Sukanta Majumdar.

BRICS Summit 2026 LIVE: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has reached New Delhi to attend the 18th BRICS Summit 2026. He is also scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi later in the day.

Pezeshkian had earlier met Modi on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Bishkek. The Iranian President said earlier that Iran and India share a long-standing relationship and have scope to further expand areas of common interest.

BRICS Summit 2026 LIVE: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has arrived in India for the BRICS Summit 2026.

BRICS Summit 2026 LIVE: “The Stage is set for BRICS 2026! India, the world’s largest democracy, warmly welcomes the global leaders to deliberate and take action to fortify our ties, accelerate cooperation and enhance shared prosperity for a better world. Together, we build a brighter future,” writes union home minister Amit Shah on X.

BRICS Summit 2026 LIVE: At BRICS Summit 2026, Harsh Pati Singhania, CMD, JK Paper Limited, said, “BRICS Summit comes at a very crucial time when there has been global turmoil for a variety of reasons and uncertainty and unpredictability. Given this scenario, the BRICS leaders will want to come up with tangible solutions because each country is affected in one way or another.”

"In my capacity as the chair of the International Chamber of Commerce Paris, we work a lot in trying to bring common standards that will be adopted by different countries. For example, the ICC has developed a large initiative called the digital standards initiative, which is a set of digital standards for all trade documents that will be adopted by different countries. This is helpful because it allows trade to happen faster, particularly for medium and small enterprises..."

BRICS Summit 2026 LIVE: EAM Dr S. Jaishankar and Foreign Affairs Minister of Uruguay, Mario Lubetkin meet at Hyderabad House.

BRICS Summit 2026 LIVE: Thembisa Jimana, Deputy President, Expanded BRICS Women's Foundation on Friday said that India, as a host, is doing “very well.”

"This has been going very well... And India as a host, I think they're doing so well in hosting because I'm in tourism. I look for so many things when I go to a country, the warmth of the people that receive you, the language, because you can be a tourist and not get to where you're going if they're not speaking your language. Here, you even made three days holiday just to accommodate us as tourists. So, that means you take this collaboration serious as a country," news agency PTI reported.

BRICS Summit 2026 LIVE: Delhi Police has detained eight to ten Tibetan nationals from a tunnel near Pragati Maidan on Friday morning, news agency PTI reported, citing police sources.

The detainees had allegedly gathered in the area to protest against the Chinese delegation visiting the national capital for the BRICS Summit 2026, the sources added.

BRICS Summit 2026 LIVE: China and India are arranging for a bilateral meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, China's foreign ministry said on Friday, as Xi is set to travel to India this weekend to attend a BRICS summit, Reuters reported.

China is willing to approach bilateral ties "from a strategic and long-term perspective," enhance communication and cooperation while properly managing differences, said Mao Ning, a ministry spokesperson, during a regular press conference.

BRICS Summit 2026 LIVE: Here is a breakdown of what the elements in the BRICS India logo represent:

The "Namaste" gesture: At the centre of the logo is a motif depicting the traditional Indian "Namaste" salutation. This conveys India's timeless spirit of warmth, inclusivity, respect, hospitality, and harmonious collaboration.

The Lotus form: The logo's central design resembles India's national flower, the lotus, which symbolises resilience and harmony.

The vibrantly coloured petals: The lotus flower's colourful petals surrounding the centre radiate the colours of all BRICS member countries. They symbolise diversity, equality, and the collective strength and unity of the expanded grouping.

The overall design reflects the broader BRICS vision of cooperation, sustainable development, and global harmony.

BRICS Summit 2026 LIVE: At BRICS Summit 2026, Luciana Brum, Head of External Affairs at Vale International, said, “The private sector has many ideas on how we can foster relationships, foster trade between the countries, and we are happy to present our recommendations to the heads of states that are part of this BRICS meeting and hopefully contribute to their decisions and to policy making that can strengthen trade between our countries because.”

"We believe there are lots of opportunities from the Brazil's standpoint; we see lots of opportunities for fostering trade. India is growing rapidly. I think the whole world is looking at India right now. So I think it's very important, very significant to have this summit here this year, where we can have all other BRICS countries connecting with Indian industry and exploring opportunities to see how we can support this growth and then, fortunately, grow together among all the BRICS countries."

BRICS Summit 2026 LIVE: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday urged BRICS member countries to link their payment systems, encourage trade in local currencies, and make digital trade more accessible globally.

Addressing the Opening Session of BRICS Business Forum 2026 here, he said India has taken significant initiatives in laying out a digital public infrastructure.

India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has crossed over 250 billion transactions a year, representing more than half of the transactions by volume across the world.

"Today, it (UPI) is also accepted in 11 countries and I would urge the BRICS member countries and partner countries to link our payment systems, trade in each other's local currencies, make digital trade global and build together for the future emerging technologies," he said.

-PTI

BRICS Summit 2026 LIVE: South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) President Adv. Mtho Xulu said, “South Africa and Africa itself have started defining their own understanding of the future of energy and energy transition in a way that balances environmental requirements and economic growth ambitions.”

"Countries such as China, which is a leading manufacturer of technologies, and India, which has developed its own energy transition and diversification, provide very important experiences for smaller economies in the region. The fact that business cases have been successful in China and India shows that some projects are bankable, and we believe development finance institutions, private equity players and larger capital markets should build on the China and India experience and extend it to other BRICS members."

BRICS Summit 2026 LIVE: President of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian, departed for his visit to India to attend the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, Iran’s embassy in India said in a post on X.

BRICS Summit 2026 LIVE: ‘External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Monday participated in the opening ceremony of BRICS Business Forum 2026, where he highlighted the centrality of economic resilience, innovation and sustainability.

In a post on X, he said he was “pleased” to participate in the event and expressed confidence that BRICS Business Forum 2026 will play a key role to build upon partnerships, access markets, connect supply networks and foster viable commercial relationships.

“Highlighted the centrality of economic resilience, innovation and sustainability. It will enable us to navigate the risks and opportunities of the current global economic landscape. Also underscored the relevance of BRICS complementarities to build substantive arrangements and widen choices,” he said.

BRICS Summit 2026 LIVE: Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal on Friday said that BRICS represents almost 1/4th of global trade, and India is an important pillar of intra-BRICS trade.

BRICS Summit 2026 LIVE: Association of Hospitality Professionals Welfare Vice President Anupam Vohra calls BRICS a “very important” gathering.

“Altogether, it represents almost the entire Global South, which accounts for approximately 60 per cent of the world's population. So, I see a lot of scope emerging from the BRICS Business Forum, where we are right now,” he said, news agency PTI reported.

BRICS Summit 2026 LIVE: Ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping arrival in India for 18th BRICS Summt, Vice President of the China Chamber of Commerce of Import and Export of Foodstuffs, Native Produce and Animal By-Products, Yu Lu said, “I think it is a very exciting moment as our President is visiting, and this will increase our bilateral trade. Till July this year, China saw 20% year-on-year growth in exports and imports of agricultural produce among BRICS countries. Trade between China and India will also be very good,” news agency ANI reported.

BRICS Summit 2026 LIVE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a busy schedule on Friday as the BRICS Summit kicks off in New Delhi. So far, the biggest name to arrive in Delhi on Friday has been Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Russian President will meet PM Modi for a bilateral meeting on Friday.

Apart from Putin, Modi will also meet United Nations (UN) secretary general António Guterres, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.

While the Modi-Putin meeting is expected around 3:30pm on Friday, the meeting with Guterres will follow that. Pezeshkian is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with the Prime Minister at around 6:15pm, and Subianto is expected to meet Modi an hour later.

BRICS Summit 2026 LIVE: Vice President of Uganda, Jessica Alupo, arrived at the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on Friday. She was received by MoS Jayant Singh at the airport.

“India and Uganda share warm and friendly ties rooted in shared history and a growing contemporary partnership, in both bilateral and multilateral spheres,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on X.

BRICS Summit 2026 LIVE: External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Friday said that greater economic activity and higher economic security mean greater self-reliance, adding that the objective remains to strengthen the ability to absorb shocks while remaining connected and competitive.

Speaking at the BRICS Business Forum, Jaishankar said, "The common thread is how to make it easier for businesses in our countries to find more partners, access more markets, connect supply networks and convert complementarities into viable commercial partnerships. For BRICS particularly, higher economic activity and higher economic security mean greater self-reliance. The objective is to strengthen our ability to absorb shocks while remaining connected and competitive.”