Delhi Hosts a Major BRICS Diplomatic Gathering

New Delhi, September 11, 2026 New Delhi is preparing for a major diplomatic gathering as the 18th BRICS Summit takes place on September 12 and 13. Leaders and senior delegations from several countries are arriving in the capital, putting India at the centre of discussions on global cooperation, economic engagement and bilateral ties. Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi on Friday for a three-day visit focused on the summit and his scheduled meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Their talks are expected to cover bilateral trade, investment and energy cooperation. Putin, who is travelling with a high-level delegation, is making his first in-person appearance at a BRICS summit outside Russia since the Ukraine war began in February 2022. Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira has also arrived to represent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who remains in Brazil for his election campaign. The summit is bringing together several prominent leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali and Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung. Modi and Putin are scheduled to hold wide-ranging bilateral talks covering areas such as defence, energy, technology, pharmaceuticals and people-to-people exchanges. The economic agenda will also feature prominently, with Modi scheduled to address the BRICS Business Forum on Friday evening. Senior representatives from CNPC, ICBC, Huawei Technologies, Alibaba Group, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways and Embraer are expected to attend. Friday’s programme, themed “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability,” is expected to draw around 1,000 foreign delegates, while Piyush Goyal and S. Jaishankar are expected to address the opening session. Extensive security and airspace measures have been put in place for the summit. Delhi Police will deploy around 15,000 personnel and 200 companies of paramilitary forces, backed by more than 500 CCTV cameras across key areas. The Airports Authority of India has also restricted non-scheduled flight operations around New Delhi from 7 am to 11 pm between September 11 and 13. With major diplomatic and business engagements lined up, the summit is set to make New Delhi a key hub for international discussions over the next two days.