New Delhi:
Some leaders of the BRICS grouping who skipped a dinner hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last night included Chinese President Xi Jinping and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, people familiar with the matter said.
The Chinese president landed in Delhi on Saturday afternoon and attended the BRICS Summit, besides having a bilateral meeting with PM Modi.
It was a long day for the leaders. The day was also packed with important diplomatic activity.
Xi skipped the dinner because he was tired and exhausted due to the time difference, people with direct knowledge of the matter said. The Chinese president attended the engagements after a long flight, they said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and other leaders of the BRICS grouping attended the dinner. Union ministers and the chief ministers of several states were also present.
These include Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Ashwini Vaishnaw and Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, chief ministers Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh), Devendra Fadnavis (Maharashtra), Suvendu Adhikari (West Bengal) and Himanta Biswa Sarma (Assam) attended too.
The Union ministers and chief ministers came in two buses from Parliament House to central Delhi’s Bharat Mandapam for the dinner.
The two-day BRICS Summit will end today. Leaders of the 11 member countries and 10 partner countries, besides some international organisations, are participating.
PM Modi is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with leaders from seven countries today. Yesterday, PM Modi and Xi took stock of India-China ties and exchanged perspectives.
A statement by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the two leaders stressed that “differences should not become disputes” and reiterated that both nations ought to adopt a strategic and long-term outlook regarding their relationship.
“The two leaders welcomed the steady progress in India-China bilateral relations since their last meeting in Tianjin in August 2025. They reaffirmed that both countries should take a strategic and long term perspective of their ties. Differences should not become disputes. Prime Minister highlighted that both sides must be guided by three mutuals – mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest,” the statement said.
