BRICS summit opens at Bharat Mandapam, Xi Jinping arrives for key Modi meeting

The 18th BRICS summit, chaired by India, began with much fanfare at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. Heads of major nations from around the world and their representatives arrived in Delhi for the summit, with global attention on India's diplomacy and its growing influence in international politics.

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived at New Delhi airport, where he was received officially by Union Minister of State Jitin Prasada. Xi Jinping was to join PM Narendra Modi at 5:45 pm for a highly important bilateral meeting. The historic meeting is being seen as one that could give a new direction to India-China relations, with positive talks expected on issues such as border tension and economic cooperation.

Ahead of the summit's main session, PM Modi held diplomatic talks with heads of various countries at Hyderabad House, welcoming them individually. Modi held a series of bilateral meetings with world leaders on the sidelines of the BRICS summit. He held special talks with Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung. He also held a detailed bilateral meeting with Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. These meetings focused on strengthening India's ties with Asian and Gulf nations.

Meetings with Ethiopian Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed Ali and Malaysian representatives gave fresh momentum to India's foreign policy. Both countries expressed a desire to further strengthen their strategic and economic partnerships with India. The high-level talks with Malaysia and Ethiopia focused particularly on cooperation in defence and technology, with both countries showing interest in joint staff training with the Indian armed forces and in buying modern defence equipment from India.

Both countries welcomed investment from Indian companies. Ethiopia specifically invited Indian mining companies to invest, while talks with Malaysia covered new possibilities in semiconductors, the digital economy and electronic products. This is expected to give a big boost to Make in India and India's defence industry internationally.

At the 18th summit held under India's BRICS presidency, PM Modi specially praised Ethiopia's participation, saying its presence had helped amplify the voice of the Global South, developing and emerging nations, on the global platform. Modi's visit to Addis Ababa in December 2025 had marked a new chapter in ties between the two countries, and this fresh meeting is seen as significant for regional security, cooperation on multilateral platforms and global economic reforms.