Delhi has been decked up to host a two-day BRICS summit starting Saturday, with world leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. As India gears to position the grouping
to champion the developmental priorities of the Global South, the summit comes at a time of a conflict in the Middle East, which has seen a divided world.
While Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Delhi for a
three-day visit, Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend on Saturday. Putin and Modi are scheduled to hold wide-ranging bilateral talks on Friday afternoon.
The talks will focus on strengthening the two countries' strategic partnership and give new impetus to trade and economic cooperation. The countries will work towards the goal of increasing bilateral trade turnover to $100 billion by 2030 – the figure currently exceeds $60 billion.
Vinay Kumar, India's Ambassador to the Russian Federation, said topics that Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are expected to discuss include access for Indian goods to the Russian market, negotiations on a free trade zone with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), cooperation in energy, including nuclear energy, the space industry, defence, and increased labour mobility of Indian specialists in Russia.
India also looks forward to hosting Xi Jinping after a gap of seven years, which will be instrumental considering the thaw in India-China relations. “This visit will further promote the improvement and development of China-India relations," Qian Feng, director of the Research Department at Tsinghua University's National Strategy Institute, told the Global Times on Thursday.
Qian noted that India views the Chinese leader's visit as a very good opportunity to push for better ties. Bilateral meetings between the two leaders are expected during the visit.
Other leaders who will attend include 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.
High security
Delhi is on high alert with tight security and temporary traffic curbs as India hosts top world leaders for the BRICS Summit at the Bharat Mandapam over the weekend.
With around 15,000 Delhi Police personnel, 200 companies of paramilitary forces and more than 500 CCTV cameras across Delhi, the capital is under a thick blanket of security for the two-day 18th BRICS Summit starting Saturday.
Delhi Traffic Police has clarified that there will be no shutdown of the city, but commuters should expect temporary stoppages, diversions and restrictions on routes used by VVIP convoys.
