Beijing on Thursday officially announced the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to India, his first in seven years, to attend the 18th Brics Summit in New Delhi on September 12-13.
Xi will also hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the two expected to discuss ways to further strengthen ties that have witnessed improvement since their meeting in Kazan, Russia, in 2024 on the margins of the 16th Brics Summit. China will succeed India as the Brics chair.
In a related development, Bangladesh on Thursday ruled out the possibility of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman visiting India this week, saying he was not invited to the Brics Summit and the invitation was instead extended to it as the chair of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).
India-Bangladesh ties have been fraught after deposed former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina addressed a media conference in New Delhi on August 5, and Dhaka expressed its interest in joining the Mecca Defence Pact with Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye.
Bangladesh is neither a Brics member nor a partner country. It was invited as part of the Brics outreach initiative, along with the leaders of the current chairs of the African Union, Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean), Gulf Cooperation Council, and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, or CELAC.
Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who was attending the Summit since the Central Asian Republic is a Brics partner country, will also represent the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) as it is the grouping’s current chair.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) officials said Thursday evening that most leaders of the 11-member Brics bloc and its 10 partner countries have confirmed their attendance, including Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Only three Brics member countries will be represented by their respective foreign ministers.
Of the original Brics member countries, Brazil will be represented by Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is focussing on next month’s general elections in his country.
Saudi Arabia will be represented by its Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, while the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi will represent the United Arab Emirates.
Other than the Summit’s two sessions over the weekend, the highlight will be Prime Minister Modi’s bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and also with Chinese President Xi.
The Chinese President last visited India in 2019 for an informal summit with Modi in Mamallapuram near Chennai. He attended the Brics Summit that India hosted in Goa in 2016. He made his first visit to India in 2014, when he held extensive talks with Modi.
The two leaders are expected to sustain the momentum in normalising ties, which began after their meeting in Kazan, Russian, in October 2024 on the sidelines of the Brics Summit there after four years of fraught relations following the 2020 standoff in Eastern Ladakh.
Ahead of Xi’s visit, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held extensive talks in Beijing on August 25 on the boundary issue and reached an eight-point consensus. In Beijing, Chinese officials said Xi’s participation underscores the country’s continued commitment to the Brics framework and its role in shaping a more inclusive global order.