Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shared a striking photograph from the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, showing him holding hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The image has quickly emerged as one of the most talked-about pictures from the gathering, bringing together the leaders of three major powers in a single frame.
Modi also shared three other photographs from the summit. In one, he is seen walking with Xi, Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, while another shows him speaking with Xi, Putin and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto. In a third photograph, Modi is seen walking alongside Putin. Together, the images capture the high-level diplomatic engagement surrounding India's BRICS chairship this year.
What Russia and China mean for India
Russia remains an important strategic partner for India, with cooperation spanning trade, energy, defence, space, infrastructure and people-to-people ties. During his meeting with Putin on the sidelines of the summit, Modi reviewed progress across these areas and discussed closer trade ties, including the Programme for Economic Cooperation 2030. The two leaders also visited the INNOPROM India exhibition, which India says can help expand trade and industrial cooperation.
China, meanwhile, remains one of India's most important economic and regional partners. Xi's presence in Delhi for the BRICS Summit, his first visit to India in seven years, has added significance to the gathering. Recent reporting has highlighted a gradual improvement in India-China engagement, including the resumption of direct flights and a recovery in economic ties.
BRICS puts India at the centre
The photographs come as India hosts the 18th BRICS Summit, bringing together leaders of the expanded 11-member grouping in New Delhi. The summit is focused on strengthening cooperation among emerging economies, with discussions covering trade, investment, energy, technology, food security and greater representation for the Global South.
For India, the gathering also provides an opportunity to engage simultaneously with major partners such as Russia and China while placing its own priorities at the centre of a wider multilateral forum. The photograph of Modi, Xi and Putin holding hands therefore offers a powerful visual of the diplomatic engagement taking place in Delhi, with all three leaders meeting again under India's BRICS chairship.
ALSO READ:
At BRICS Summit, China's Xi takes a veiled dig at US: 'Mideast war doesn't serve common interests'
