Reuters quoted the Kremlin as saying on Wednesday that Vladimir Putin will attend the BRICS summit in India later this year. This will be the Russian president’s second visit to India in less than a year.
New Delhi is scheduled to host the 18th BRICS summit in September 2026 under the leadership of PM Modi. This will be part of his presidency of the bloc, bringing together leaders of major developing countries at a time of growing uncertainty worldwide.
Putin previously visited India for a two-day visit in December 2025, when he held talks with the Prime Minister during the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit, aimed at strengthening mutual relations.
This visit also marked the 25th anniversary of the Declaration on Strategic Partnership between the two countries, which was first signed during his first visit to India in 2000.
What is the BRICS Summit? BRICS has grown significantly in recent years, becoming a group of 11 major emerging market and developing economies, including Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia.
The group serves as an important platform for coordination on global political and economic issues, particularly governance reforms, energy security, and development priorities.
Originally formed as BRIC following a meeting of foreign ministers on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in 2006, the group held its first summit in Yekaterinburg in 2009. It was later expanded to BRICS in 2010 with the addition of South Africa.
Recently, its scope has expanded with the addition of new members from 2024, as well as a group of partner countries such as Belarus, Nigeria, Malaysia, and Vietnam, reflecting its growing geopolitical and economic importance.
India’s 2026 Agenda: A ‘Humanity-First’ Focus
Under India’s presidency from January 2026, the summit’s theme is “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainability,” with a special focus on the Global South.
Priorities include advancing global governance reforms, promoting economic resilience and local currency trade, enhancing digital public infrastructure, strengthening health security, enhancing counter-terror cooperation, advancing climate finance and the energy transition, and deepening people-to-people ties among BRICS countries.