08 September,2026 05:09 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
PM Narendra Modi with Russian President Vladimir Putin. File pic
Ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin's India visit for the BRICS Summit 2026 in New Delhi, Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has confirmed that Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi will hold a bilateral meeting with the Russian leader, scheduled for Friday, a day before the summit begins, news agency ANI reported.
Speaking to reporters via a virtual briefing from Moscow, Peskov said, "We're looking forward to the President and Prime Minister having another bilateral meeting during the visit. It is scheduled. It is scheduled for Friday, so first, like always, they will touch on the bilateral agenda. Trade and economic cooperation is a very wide scope."
Peskov stated that the engagement would provide an opportunity for India and Russia to discuss issues concerning bilateral relations, while also wishing India success in hosting the summit.
Elaborating further, Peskov added, "In a couple of days, President Putin will begin his India visit. You know that our two leaders, Indian and Russian leaders, are in a very close personal contact. They are very pragmatic in their relationship, and they are as sincere as to be able to discuss in a very open and constructive way the most sensitive issues of our agenda and our bilateral relations. Of course, it opens additional horizons for our cooperation."
"We have no doubt that the summit will be successful. Russia, we are doing our best to contribute to further development of BRICS cooperation in the three main pillars of our interaction. So, those are policy and security, economy and finance, and cultural and humanitarian contexts. So, we are supporting the idea of inviting new countries to join different formats within BRICS," he noted.
Peskov also highlighted financial cooperation as a key multilateral objective, alleging that certain nations were using their currencies as a tool for political oppression.
"The cooperation space within BRICS financial sphere is of great importance. Russia recently reached a level of 90 percent of all the payments, all the transactions with BRICS countries being made in national currencies, it's very important. It's not because we are aiming for de-dollarization, for getting rid of U.S. dollars. To the contrary, we are open to every acceptable method of payment, but you know that certain countries are using some national currencies as a tool for political oppression. They are introducing sanctions based on their national currencies. So, if they don't let us use their money, we use our own money," Peskov said.
The 18th BRICS Summit, scheduled to be held in New Delhi on September 12-13, comes as the intergovernmental forum of major emerging market economies and developing nations continues to expand its areas of cooperation.
The grouping was initially established as BRIC, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, and China. The bloc held its first Foreign Ministers' meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in 2006 and its inaugural summit in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2009. It became BRICS after South Africa joined in 2011.
Under India's 2026 chairship theme, "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability," New Delhi's vision seeks to move the grouping beyond routine political coordination towards practical cooperation in areas including commerce, agriculture, healthcare, energy, digital technology, urban development, small enterprise empowerment, startups, climate action and cultural exchanges.
India's chairship framework is built around four primary pillars.
Resilience focuses on protecting institutions, societies and economies from supply-chain disruptions, health crises, geopolitical shocks, and climate risks.
Innovation, the second pillar, focuses on the deployment of artificial intelligence, financial technologies, digital public infrastructure, and data-driven systems.
The third pillar, Cooperation, aims to broaden trade flows, institutional linkages, development financing and economic policy alignment.
The fourth pillar, Sustainability, seeks to advance global climate action, green finance, energy transitions and sustainable development, with the aim of ensuring that established mechanisms deliver enduring operational benefits beyond the summit.
In economic governance and trade, the alliance has advanced the Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership 2030, while reaffirming support for a robust multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core.
To strengthen trade corridors, member states have adopted the BRICS Global Value Chains Action Plan 2026-2030, alongside guiding principles designed to assess export-oriented micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
(With ANI inputs)
