Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin held extensive bilateral talks at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on the eve of the 18th BRICS Summit.
The discussions centred on accelerating economic ties to achieve a 100 billion dollar bilateral trade target by 2030, bridging the current 40 billion dollar gap.
Bilateral talks covered six strategic pillars comprising trade, industrial cooperation, civil nuclear energy, skilled labour mobility, critical minerals, and fertilisers.
Narendra Modi and Vladimir Putin held bilateral discussions at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Friday, a day ahead of the 2026 BRICS summit. Trade, industrial links and other strategic sectors dominated the meeting. Putin was making his first in-person appearance at a BRICS summit outside Russia since the Ukraine war began in February 2022.
The agenda was expected to span six areas — trade, industrial cooperation, nuclear energy, skilled labour, critical minerals and fertilisers — as India and Russia look to deepen their economic partnership, Livemint reported. ANI reported, citing sources, that the talks were centred on an effort to reach $100bn in bilateral trade by 2030. The discussions also touched on investment, supply chains and market access as India hosts the two-day summit from Saturday.
Trade Target Talks
The trade ambition is sizeable. The two leaders were expected to look at ways to speed up two-way commerce and hit the $100bn mark by 2030.
Trade between the two countries is currently around $60bn, a rise driven largely by crude oil imports. The remaining $40bn gap will require broader market access and fresh business opportunities.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal had flagged the target earlier. At an event in New Delhi on 10 September with Russian minister of industry and trade Anton Alikhanov, he said annual trade of about $60bn would have to grow by another $40bn over four years, sustained by double-digit expansion. “The targets set by the two heads of state would be a measure of the performance of both governments and businesses,” Goyal said at INNOPROM, an international industrial trade fair that began in New Delhi on Thursday.
Industrial Partnership Plans
Industry figured prominently too. ANI reported that INNOPROM India was being used as a platform to widen partnerships between Indian and Russian firms.
Railways and tunnelling were part of the discussion, along with development of the steel value chain. The sides also talked about creating more business-to-business links and improving access for Indian goods in Russia.
Nuclear And Labour
Civil nuclear cooperation remained on the table, including work across the fuel cycle and life-cycle support for projects.
The two countries are also exploring ways to send more skilled Indian workers to Russia, which could open opportunities for professionals from India while easing workforce needs there, ANI reported.
Critical Minerals And Fertilisers
Critical minerals were another point of focus, with both countries looking at stronger cooperation in a sector now seen as strategically important worldwide. That matters for supply chains supporting strategic industries.
Fertiliser ties are also expected to be sustained and expanded, including through joint-venture projects. The six themes together point to a broader India-Russia economic relationship extending beyond defence and energy.
Gift And Visit
Modi presented Putin with a Russian translation of the Thirukkural, the Tamil ethical text written by Thiruvalluvar. The title means “sacred couplets” or “sacred verses.”
Putin reached New Delhi on Friday, beginning a three-day trip to India. A high-level delegation is accompanying him, and Minister of State for External Affairs KV Singh greeted him at the airport that morning. He is due to attend the BRICS summit and meet Modi on trade, investment and energy cooperation.
The BRICS summit opens Saturday. Over two days, India is expected to push collective resilience in food, energy, health, disaster reduction and critical supply chains, with New Delhi presenting the bloc as an anchor for navigating a fragmented geopolitical environment.
Modi and Putin last met in Bishkek on 31 August at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit. There, the prime minister urged Putin to move from an “endless war towards the end of war,” referring to the Russia-Ukraine conflict that began five years ago after Moscow’s full-scale invasion.
An official readout said Modi met Putin on the margins of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, their second meeting this year after Bishkek on 31 August 2026.
The two leaders reviewed cooperation in politics, the economy, defence, energy, space, skill mobility and people-to-people ties. They welcomed Russia’s International Industrial Exhibition “INNOPROM India”, held in India for the first time from 9-11 September 2026, and visited the show together, underscoring its role in further expanding trade and industrial ties.
They also exchanged views on India-Russia engagement in BRICS under India’s chairship for 2026. The readout said they discussed regional and global issues, including the conflicts in West Asia and the Black Sea region, which have affected maritime trade and the safety and security of Indian seafarers. Modi repeated that dialogue and diplomacy were the way forward and that India was ready to help with peace efforts.
The leaders agreed to keep engaging to strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership. The readout said the partnership has shown resilience amid geopolitical uncertainty and continues to register significant growth. Putin also invited Modi to Russia for the 24th India-Russia Annual Summit, and the prime minister accepted. The dates will be worked out later through diplomatic channels.
