Leaders and representatives from BRICS member and partner countries have arrived in New Delhi, India, ahead of the group’s 18th Summit, scheduled to take place on September 12 and 13 at Bharat Mandapam.
BRICS is made up of 11 major emerging and developing economies: Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in the Indian capital in the early hours of Friday.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is also expected to arrive later in the day, while Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to arrive on Saturday at around 12:15 p.m. His visit will mark his first trip to India in nearly seven years.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Ugandan Vice President Jessica Alupo have already arrived in New Delhi.
BRICS Summit agenda
The summit will begin with a closed-door session for core BRICS members focused on “Inclusive Global Governance and Strengthening Multilateralism”.
Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima will represent President Bola Tinubu at the summit, where he is expected to join other leaders in discussions on major global issues.
The United Arab Emirates will be represented by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, while Brazil’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Mauro Vieira, will represent his country.
Other prominent participants expected at the summit include United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, New Development Bank President Dilma Rousseff, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali and Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. are also expected in Delhi for the summit.
Uruguay’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mario Lubetkin and World Health Organisation Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus are among other expected participants.
Also attending are Cuba’s Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, WTO Director-General Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Belarusian Foreign Affairs Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov, Bahrain’s Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.
Held under the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainability,” the 18th BRICS Summit brings together the 11 member states, which collectively account for about 49 per cent of the world’s population and 40 per cent of global GDP, alongside 10 BRICS partner countries.
Events lined up for leaders
As part of the summit programme, leaders will visit the Bharat Innovates Exhibition, take part in a joint tree-planting ceremony and attend a gala dinner hosted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Modi is also expected to hold a series of bilateral meetings with visiting leaders during the summit.
On Sunday, the Indian prime minister will welcome leaders from partner countries and other invited representatives for a broader session themed “Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability: Shaping the Future for Inclusive Global Growth”.