Chinese President Xi Jinping skips BRICS gala dinner
What's the story
Chinese President Xi Jinping skipped a gala dinner hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the BRICS Summit in New Delhi on Saturday. The event was attended by leaders of participating countries and international organizations. Notably, Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed also skipped the dinner after attending the summit earlier in the day.
Speculations
Reason behind Xi's absence unclear
The reason behind Xi's absence from the gala dinner remains unclear. A source told PTI that he may have returned to his hotel to rest.
The Chinese president had landed in Delhi on Saturday afternoon, attended the BRICS Summit, and held a bilateral meeting with PM Modi.
He left China in the morning and reached Delhi around noon, leaving him little time to recuperate before the summit, which started around 2pm.
Attendees
Union ministers, CMs attend dinner
Despite Xi's absence, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other BRICS leaders attended the gala dinner.
Indian Union ministers Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Ashwini Vaishnaw and Shivraj Singh Chouhan were also present at the event.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and chief ministers from various states, including Uttar Pradesh's Yogi Adityanath and Maharashtra's Devendra Fadnavis, also graced the occasion.
Menu and summit
What was on the menu?
The Union ministers and chief ministers traveled in two buses from Parliament House to Bharat Mandapam for the dinner.
The menu featured dishes like khandvi mille-feuille, khumb galouti, paneer lababdar, gucchi marmik, carrot-bean poriyal and millet pulao.
Desserts included Old Delhi fruit cream with jalebi and shahtoot phirni.
India is hosting the BRICS Summit on September 12-13, with leaders from 11 member countries and 10 partner countries attending, along with some international organizations.