NEW DELHI: India will host leaders including the presidents of China, Russia and Iran for a BRICS summit on Saturday, with wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, as well as economic challenges, set to dominate talks among the 11-member group.

Russia’s Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, are expected to arrive in New Delhi as early as Friday, with both due to hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is also expected to meet Modi, according to Indian diplomatic sources, on the sidelines of the two-day meeting.

It will be Xi’s first visit to India since 2019 and marks the biggest step yet in a cautious thaw between the rival neighbours, six years after a deadly military clash along their disputed Himalayan border.

Modi to hold talks with Putin, Pezeshkian; Xi also expected to meet Indian PM

Ties between the nuclear-armed Asian giants have been warming again recently, with flights, visas and high-level contacts gradually being restored.

However, deep mistrust remains, with their contested frontier, a widening trade deficit and strategic rivalry still complicating ties.

“An India-China bilateral would be very important,” said Pradeep Taneja, a China-India expert at the University of Melbourne.

Posters of a beaming Modi line streets across New Delhi to welcome leaders, with heavy deployments of security forces across the capital and widespread traffic restrictions in central districts.

Delhi police have urged people to “stay patient, stay cooperative”, with Friday declared a city holiday.

‘Fault line’

BRICS was created in 2009 as a forum for major emerging economies seeking greater influence in institutions dominated by Western powers.

It has since expanded and now includes Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — three countries with sharply differing positions on the war launched by the United States and Israel in February.

Published in Dawn, September 11th, 2026