Putin to arrive in India early Friday for three-day BRICS visit
Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive in India early Friday on a three-day visit during which he will attend the 18th BRICS Summit and hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said on Thursday.
Putin will address the plenary session of the annual BRICS Business Forum on Friday, an event that traditionally precedes the summit and provides a platform for dialogue among business representatives from BRICS countries, Ushakov said, according to state-run TASS.
The Russian president will also meet Modi bilaterally and join him for a visit to the Innoprom exhibition, organised by the Ministries of Industry and Trade of the two countries.
The main BRICS Summit programme will begin on September 12, with leaders discussing initiatives put forward by the Indian chairship and ways to strengthen the grouping’s strategic partnership in politics and security, economics and finance, and cultural and humanitarian ties.
The leaders will also exchange views on current international and regional issues.
On Sunday, an expanded BRICS meeting will bring together heads of delegations from member and partner countries, as well as invited countries and heads of international organisations.
Putin is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with several leaders on the sidelines of the summit, including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
Ushakov said several bilateral meetings had been scheduled alongside the multilateral events.
No separate full-format meeting between Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping has been scheduled on the sidelines of the summit, TASS reported. However, the two leaders are expected to interact during what Ushakov described as a “pull-aside meeting”.
The visit comes as India hosts the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, with leaders expected to discuss cooperation across political, economic and humanitarian areas as well as major international and regional developments.