Putin to visit India from September 12-13 for BRICS Summit
What's the story
Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit New Delhi on September 12 and 13 for the BRICS Summit, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov confirmed on Tuesday. This will be Putin's second trip to India within a year. He last visited India for the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit in December, during which he held extensive talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on expanding bilateral cooperation across several key sectors.
Summit agenda
Last BRICS summit held in July 2025
The last summit took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in July. Recently, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also visited India for the BRICS foreign ministers' meeting and met Prime Minister Modi to discuss regional and global issues. During the visit, the two sides discussed various aspects of the India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership, including trade and investment, energy and connectivity, and science and technology as well as facilitating mobility of skills and talents.
Bloc overview
About BRICS bloc
BRICS is a major intergovernmental organization originally founded by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The bloc represents a significant portion of the world's population and GDP. It aims to reform global financial systems and boost economic cooperation among emerging economies. In 2023, BRICS extended invitations to Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates after they applied for membership. Saudi has yet to join formally, but the others have.
Bilateral ties
Russia's role as India's key partner
Russia is a key partner for India in defense, energy and geopolitical coordination. A large part of India's military hardware comes from Russia, including the S-400 Triumf air defense system and Sukhoi fighter jets. Moscow is also a major supplier of advanced military equipment to New Delhi. In energy security, India has increased imports of discounted Russian crude oil after Western sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine conflict.
Economic collaboration
India, Russia working on co-production model to boost trade
India and Russia have also been working on a co-production model to make their trade more balanced. This includes joint manufacturing of export-oriented goods and technology transfer. An example is the agreement between Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Russia's United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) for producing SJ-100 civilian passenger aircraft in India. The two countries are also looking at collaborations in Russia's Far East region for mineral access and investment opportunities.