BRICS summit India LIVE: Chinese airline resumes Guangzhou to New Delhi flights ahead of Modi-Xi meet today

ITBP security personnel receive instructions at the entrance of the Bharat Mandapam, the venue of the 18th BRICS Summit, in New Delhi, India, September 12, 2026.

BRICS summit India LIVE: Chinese President Xi Jinping has reportedly left Beijing for New Delhi on Saturday to attend the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit, with his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected to be the key highlight of the day. The engagement comes as New Delhi is hosting the highly-anticipated event on September 12 and 13, with leaders and senior delegations from member countries arriving in the national capital since Thursday evening....Read More

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi on Friday for a three-day visit to participate in the summit and hold talks with Modi. Putin on Friday took potshots at G-7 and said the BRICS countries account for more than half of the world's population and have “dynamic, vibrant, domestic markets".

Putin is accompanied by a high-level delegation. His visit marks his first in-person participation at a BRICS summit outside Russia since the war in Ukraine began in February 2022.

Brazilian foreign minister Mauro Vieira also arrived in New Delhi to represent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who remains in Brazil for his election campaign.

Xi, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali and Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung are among the other top leaders attending the summit.

Chinese President in New Delhi today

Xi has left Beijing and is on the way to New Delhi at the invitation of Modi, China’s People’s Daily reported early Saturday. The two leaders are expected to meet on the sidelines of the two-day summit, which is being hosted by India at Bharat Mandapam.

While announcing the Chinese premiere's visit, the country's ambassador to India Xu Feihong said: "China will work with India to act on the strategic guidance of the two leaders, handle the bilateral relations from a strategic height and long-term perspective, step up communication, enhance cooperation, properly handle differences, and be friends enjoying good-neighborliness and partners helping each other succeed," the envoy wrote on X.

What is on BRICS agenda today

1. The BRICS leaders will begin arriving at Bharat Mandapam from 2pm on Saturday. The first closed session, scheduled for 2.35pm, will focus on “Inclusive Global Governance and Strengthening Multilateralism.”

2. The leaders will later visit the Bharat Innovates exhibition before posing for a family photograph and participating in a joint tree plantation. Modi will host a gala dinner for the visiting leaders at 7.30pm.

3. The summit will continue on Sunday with the arrival of leaders of BRICS partner countries and outreach invitees. An open session titled “Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability: Shaping the Future for Inclusive Global Growth” is scheduled for 10.50am.

4. India is hosting the summit under its 2026 BRICS presidency, its fourth chairship of the grouping. The presidency is guided by the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”

5. BRICS currently comprises 11 countries — Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the UAE. Together, the grouping represents 49.5% of the global population, 40% of global GDP and 26% of global trade.

Tight security, traffic curbs in Delhi

The summit has also triggered extensive security arrangements across the national capital.

Around 30,000 police and security personnel, along with sniffer dog squads and anti-drone systems, have been deployed in and around Bharat Mandapam, where the summit is being held.

Delhi Police has put in place a multi-layered security arrangement, with around 15,000 personnel and 200 companies of paramilitary forces deployed across the city. More than 500 CCTV cameras, including high-resolution and specialised surveillance cameras, have also been installed to maintain round-the-clock surveillance of key areas.

The Airports Authority of India has notified airspace restrictions around New Delhi, barring non-scheduled flight operations between 7am and 11pm from September 11 to 13.

Traffic restrictions are also in place on Saturday from 9.30am to 9.30pm. Movement will be regulated around Bharat Mandapam and Pragati Maidan, as well as several key corridors connecting central Delhi with the northern, southern, eastern and western parts of the city.

The Delhi Police has advised commuters to plan their journeys in advance and use the Metro wherever possible.

Follow all the updates here:

Sep 12, 2026, 08:32:33 IST

BRICS summit India LIVE: Belarus foreign minister Maxim Ryzhenkov arrived in New Delhi on Saturday to attend the 18th BRICS Summit.

Sep 12, 2026, 08:28:01 IST

BRICS summit India LIVE: Visuals from outside Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, where the 18th BRICS Summit is set to begin today, September 12.

The two-day summit will bring together leaders of BRICS member and partner countries, along with outreach invitees.

This year’s summit is being held under the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”

India, a founding member of BRICS, has previously held the grouping’s chairship three times — in 2012, 2016 and 2021.

Sep 12, 2026, 08:24:28 IST

BRICS summit India LIVE: Chinese President Xi Jinping left Beijing on Saturday for New Delhi to attend the 18th BRICS Summit, according to Chinese news agency Xinhua.

His entourage includes Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, and Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Chinese foreign minister, Xinhua reported.