By R Anil Kumar
Moscow, April 16, 2026. Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the upcoming BRICS summit in India later this year, marking his second visit to the country in less than twelve months.
The Kremlin confirmed his participation, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stating that Putin will “definitely” take part in the gathering, though the official dates have not yet been announced.
New Delhi is expected to host the 18th BRICS Summit in September 2026 under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, as part of India’s presidency of the bloc.
The summit will bring together leaders from major emerging economies at a time of heightened global uncertainty and shifting alignments.
Putin’s visit will be his second trip to India in under a year. He was last in New Delhi in December 2025 for a two-day visit during the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit, where he held talks with Prime Minister Modi to strengthen bilateral ties. That occasion also marked the 25th anniversary of the Declaration on Strategic Partnership between the two nations, first signed during Putin’s inaugural visit to India in 2000.
BRICS has expanded significantly in recent years and now includes eleven major emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia.
The grouping serves as a platform for coordination on global political and economic issues, including governance reforms, energy security and development priorities. Originally formed as Bric after a meeting of foreign ministers on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in 2006, the group held its first summit in Yekaterinburg in 2009.
It became BRICS with the inclusion of South Africa in 2010. More recently, new members joined from 2024 onwards, alongside partner countries such as Belarus, Nigeria, Malaysia and Vietnam.
India’s presidency of BRICS since January 2026 has been guided by the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability,” with a strong focus on the Global South. Key priorities include pushing for reforms in global governance, boosting economic resilience and local currency trade, expanding digital public infrastructure, strengthening health security, enhancing counter-terror cooperation, advancing climate finance and energy transition, and deepening people-to-people ties among BRICS nations.
(With TASS Inputs)
