The New Indian Express ·
Politics
BRICS leaders to join open session in Delhi; PM Modi set for seven bilateral meetings on day 2
The second day of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi will see the participation of member and partner countries in an open session, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with leaders from seven countries on Sunday.
Modi is scheduled to meet South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Philippine President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye, Ugandan Vice President Jessica Alupo and Nigerian Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Modi will meet Ramaphosa on the sidelines of the summit. South Africa is a core BRICS member, and Ramaphosa attended Saturday’s session on ‘Inclusive Global Governance & Strengthening Multilateralism’. He also visited the ‘Bharat Innovates’ exposition in New Delhi.
Addressing the BRICS Business Forum Leaders’ Session on Friday, Ramaphosa said the grouping was at an “inflection point” amid shifts in the global economy, changing trade patterns, rapid technological advances and growing climate pressures. He described these developments as an opportunity to build a more resilient, diversified and inclusive economic future for the Global South.
Modi is also scheduled to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who met Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the summit on Saturday.
The Prime Minister’s other meetings will be with Tokayev, Marcos, Ndayishimiye, Alupo and Shettima, as India seeks to deepen its ties with countries across Africa and Asia.
The open session on Sunday will focus on the summit’s core pillars of resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability. Titled ‘Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability: Shaping the Future for Inclusive Global Growth’, it will be held at the Summit Hall in Bharat Mandapam.
The session is part of the two-day BRICS Summit, being hosted by India on September 12-13 under the chairship theme ‘Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability’.
It is expected to provide BRICS leaders with an opportunity to discuss issues of common interest, strengthen cooperation among member countries and promote an inclusive approach to global growth.
On Saturday, BRICS leaders unanimously adopted the New Delhi Declaration, with Modi describing it as a reflection of a BRICS that is “wider in reach and stronger in purpose”.
Modi said the declaration focuses on innovation, sustainability and people-to-people ties, with the aim of making cooperation “more practical, development-oriented and responsive to the aspirations of the BRICS nations”.
The declaration expressed deep concern over escalating tensions in West Asia and called for maximum restraint and avoidance of actions that could further aggravate the situation.
It also reaffirmed BRICS’ support for a lasting two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, called for stronger international institutional support for Palestine and reaffirmed Israel’s legal obligation to ensure the provision of humanitarian aid in Gaza.
The BRICS countries called for an immediate end to unilateral economic sanctions and expressed concern over rising protectionist policies, warning that arbitrary tariff hikes and green-labelled trade barriers were disrupting global supply chains and hurting developing countries.
India’s presidency of BRICS, which began on January 1, 2026, is guided by the theme ‘Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability’, with a human-centric approach aimed at strengthening institutions and supporting sustainable growth.
(With inputs from ANI)
