XI, Putin May Visit India During BRICS Summit 2026

New Delhi is slated to host the BRICS Summit this September. The meeting, scheduled for September 12 and 13, returns to India after five years. Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian are expected to attend.

The leaders may meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi separately with those preparing the event expect the gathering to facilitate these private sessions.

The official theme for the gathering is "Building for resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability".

Xi's Historic India Visit

If Xi travels to India, it will be his first visit since October 2019. During that trip, he met Modi in Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu.

Relations collapsed soon after when Chinese soldiers crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, sparking a tense border standoff.

A breakthrough came in late 2024 after both nations agreed to resolve the border confrontation before the two leaders held talks in Kazan, Russia, in October 2024. Their latest face-to-face dialogue occurred on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin in August 2025.

West Asia Diplomatic Rifts

Regional friction shadows the upcoming summit as Iran and the UAE remain divided over the West Asia conflict, both nations having joined the bloc in January 2024.

Joint US and Israeli attacks hit Iran in February 2026, pushing Tehran and Abu Dhabi to back opposing sides. India now expects to help resolve differences between the two nations.

The UAE for its part has sought to weaken official BRICS language regarding the Palestine issue and a two-state solution while all other member states have opposed this move.

The BRICS foreign ministers' meeting in May 2026 concluded without a consensus outcome document due to these disagreements.

Strengthening Bilateral Partnerships

Pezeshkian's visit offers a direct channel as Tehran plans to brief Indian leaders on the West Asia conflict while both sides discuss ways to expand bilateral cooperation, officials said according to News18 report.

Bilateral relations have suffered since 2019 since American sanctions stopped Indian purchases of Iranian crude oil in May 2019 and disrupted New Delhi's work on the Chabahar port venture last year.

India has also invited several non-member heads of government to the September summit. Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman was invited in his capacity as the current chair of BIMSTEC.