As the Brics chair, New Delhi endeavours to position the grouping as a “bridge builder”, a platform for dialogue, understanding and constructive cooperation. It will showcase its people-centric approach with over 50 development-oriented outcomes achieved in Brics- related meetings held this year. India has also sought to build consensus for reform of institutions of global governance, and support for its United Nations Security Council bid for the 2028-29 cycle.
Leaders of Brics member-countries will begin arriving in the national capital from Friday, with some of them slated to attend a Business Forum on that day. Russian President Vladimir Putin is slated to attend the Brics Business Forum’s leaders’ session along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the host, and some other Brics leaders. The forum will have panel discussions on strengthening trade and supply chains among Brics countries, and reducing non-tariff barriers.
Modi and Putin will also hold bilateral talks on Friday, with Russia and India looking to upgrade their cooperation on BrahMos cruise missiles that they jointly produce. Addressing an online press conference on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “We are jointly producing the BrahMos missiles, and it is time to think about improving those missiles, adding some additional characteristics, making them more competitive in the market and more effective.”
Modi and Putin met in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, earlier this month on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit. A third meeting this year is slated to take place in Moscow, with Modi likely to travel to Russia at the end of the year for an India-Russia summit. The issue of trade imbalance could come up in the meeting between the two leaders on Friday.
Apart from Putin, heads of government or state of most other Brics countries have confirmed their participation in the summit, including Chinese President Xi Jinping. Modi will have a bilateral meeting with Xi, which comes amid the two sides having taken forward their talks on a boundary agreement. China will take over as the chair of Brics from India.
India's challenge will be getting Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to agree to the joint statement set to be issued at the conclusion of the summit on Sunday afternoon. The two countries have been embroiled in the West Asia crisis. Of the Brics member-countries, only Saudi Arabia, Brazil and the UAE will be represented by senior ministers.
As the Brics chair, India hosted over 400 meetings with substantive participation from the grouping’s members, which demonstrated India’s strong convening and consensus-building strength, government officials said. The meetings achieved over 50 tangible outcomes, including agreed frameworks, action plans, guidelines, forums and networks for collaboration across the four priority pillars of resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability.
The Brics summit is also expected to take a common stand against terrorism, unequivocally condemning it and committing to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
The Brics grouping was conceptualised in 2006, and its first summit meeting was held in 2009. It initially comprised Brazil, Russia, India and China, with South Africa joining as a full member in 2010. It further expanded in 2024 and 2025.
 "image")