Putin India visit: Kremlin confirms PM Modi-Russian President bilateral meeting ahead of BRICS Summit

Ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putinrsquos 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 reportedSpeaking to reporters via a virtual briefing from Moscow Peskov said Were 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 scopePeskov 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 summitElaborating 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 cooperationWe 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 notedRussia backs greater financial cooperation within BRICSPeskov also highlighted financial cooperation as a key multilateral objective alleging that certain nations were using their currencies as a tool for political oppressionThe 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 its very important Its not because we are aiming for dedollarization for getting rid of US 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 dont let us use their money we use our own money Peskov saidBRICS Summit 2026 in New DelhiThe 18th BRICS Summit scheduled to be held in New Delhi on September 1213 comes as the intergovernmental forum of major emerging market economies and developing nations continues to expand its areas of cooperationThe 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 2011Under Indiarsquos 2026 chairship theme Building for Resilience Innovation Cooperation and Sustainability New Delhirsquos 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 exchangesIndiarsquos chairship framework is built around four primary pillarsResilience focuses on protecting institutions societies and economies from supplychain disruptions health crises geopolitical shocks and climate risksInnovation the second pillar focuses on the deployment of artificial intelligence financial technologies digital public infrastructure and datadriven systemsThe third pillar Cooperation aims to broaden trade flows institutional linkages development financing and economic policy alignmentThe 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 summitBRICS focuses on trade and economic cooperationIn 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 coreTo strengthen trade corridors member states have adopted the BRICS Global Value Chains Action Plan 20262030 alongside guiding principles designed to assess exportoriented micro small and medium enterprises MSMEsWith ANI inputs