Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday departed from New Delhi after attending the two-day 18th BRICS Summit hosted by India under its chairship.
During the summit, Putin participated in two BRICS sessions and visited the Bharat Innovates exhibition at Bharat Mandapam.
He also addressed the Leaders’ Session of the BRICS Business Forum, where he criticised Western nations over what he described as the use of trade and diplomatic pressure as a form of state-level interference.
Putin said Russia has faced more than 30,000 sanctions, claiming the figure was more than twice the number imposed on all other countries in the world combined.
“More than 30,000 sanctions have been slapped on Russia, which is twice as much as the number of all sanctions against all other countries of the world combined,” the Russian President said.
On the sidelines of the summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with Putin and discussed strengthening India-Russia trade ties, including implementation of the Programme for Economic Cooperation 2030.
The two leaders also discussed cooperation in infrastructure, energy, technology, defence and culture.
PM Modi said the meeting took place less than two weeks after their previous interaction on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Bishkek on August 31.
“Delighted to meet President Putin in Delhi, less than two weeks after our meeting in Bishkek. During today’s meeting, we talked about closer trade ties, including implementation of the Programme for Economic Cooperation 2030. Cooperation in areas like infrastructure, energy, technology, defence, culture and more,” PM Modi said in a post on X.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the two leaders also exchanged views on key regional and global issues of mutual interest, including conflicts in West Asia and the Black Sea region.
The MEA said the conflicts have affected maritime trade as well as the safety and security of Indian seafarers.
PM Modi reiterated that dialogue and diplomacy remain the way forward for resolving conflicts and said India remains ready to contribute to peace efforts.
Earlier on Sunday, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali also departed from New Delhi after attending the BRICS Summit.
The 18th BRICS Summit was hosted by India in New Delhi on September 12 and 13 under the chairship theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.” (ANI)
