Leaders began arriving in New Delhi on Friday for the Brics summit, with Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, leading the UAE delegation.
The two-day gathering begins on Saturday and brings together leaders from some of the world's largest emerging economies.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was among the first to arrive. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, Iran’s Masoud Pezeshkian and South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa also flew in on Friday. Chinese President Xi Jinping is due on Saturday for his first visit to India in seven years. The Saudi delegation will be led by Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan.
Brics – originally an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – has expanded since 2024 to include the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Indonesia and Ethiopia. It is a club of nations that accounts for around a quarter of the world’s nominal GDP and roughly half its population. The bloc now includes some of the world’s largest energy producers and consumers.
The summit is expected to focus on food and energy security, health, disaster preparedness, supply chains, and science, technology and innovation, as host India seeks to position Brics as a source of stability in an increasingly fragmented world.
The gathering comes as the global economy grapples with the consequences of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the crisis in the Middle East, the disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the Trump administration’s trade policies.
India is seeking to use its chairmanship to advance economic co-operation and strengthen the bloc’s role, while the Iran war, trade tensions and pressure on energy supplies are expected to dominate discussions. The foreign ministers failed to agree on a joint statement at their meeting in May, raising questions over whether leaders can reach consensus this weekend.
Economic issues will feature prominently, with Brics finance chiefs on Thursday calling for reforms to the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. India is pushing the bloc to explore greater links between members’ digital currencies, although political and technical hurdles remain.
Mr Putin held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday on trade, energy and defence. Russia is one of India's most important strategic partners and a major supplier of oil and military equipment.
India has also relied heavily on Russian oil to cushion the impact of energy disruptions caused by the Iran war, even as the Kremlin's war in Ukraine continues and Western pressure on New Delhi over its purchases of Russian crude persists.
Separately, a Modi-Xi meeting is also being arranged, adding a significant bilateral dimension to a summit that is expected to test whether Brics can translate its growing global weight into practical co-operation despite differences among its members.
China is willing to approach bilateral ties “from a strategic and long-term perspective”, enhance communication and co-operation while properly managing differences, said Mao Ning, a Foreign Ministry representative, during a press conference.
Mr Xi will attend the Brics summit, address the event and have in-depth exchanges with leaders on the current international situation, Mr Mao said.
