Modi and Putin hold New Delhi talks as India prepares to host BRICS leaders

NEW DELHI — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin began talks in New Delhi on Friday ahead of the BRICS leaders' summit, with energy, defence, trade and strategic cooperation dominating the agenda.

The meeting is their second in approximately two weeks, following talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek on August 31.

Indian officials expect discussions to cover civil nuclear energy, fertilisers, defence, critical minerals, manufacturing, railways and steel. The agenda reflects the unusually broad relationship between India and Russia despite Western efforts to isolate Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.

Energy remains particularly important.

Russia accounted for a record 51% of India's crude-oil imports in July, as disruption to Middle Eastern supply routes made Russian crude even more significant to Indian refiners. India argues that its enormous population and expanding economy require secure and affordable energy regardless of Western pressure.

Modi has simultaneously pressed Putin to end the war in Ukraine. During their August meeting, he said the conflict needed to end for humanity's sake and reiterated India's willingness to support peace efforts. New Delhi maintains that the conflict must ultimately be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.

The meeting comes immediately before the BRICS summit in New Delhi on September 12–13, where Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian are among the expected participants.

BRICS finance ministers have already called for reform of institutions such as the IMF and World Bank and for further work on cheaper, more efficient cross-border payment systems. India is expected to push discussion of greater interoperability between national digital-payment and central-bank-digital-currency systems.

A Modi–Xi bilateral meeting is also being arranged, according to China's foreign ministry.

The summit therefore arrives at an unusually consequential moment: BRICS members include countries on different sides of some of the world's most serious geopolitical disputes, yet the bloc is simultaneously seeking a larger role in global finance and governance.

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