Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: A group of Russian singers, singing a Hare Krishna Bhajan, welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a hotel in Kazan, Russia, after he landed there to participate in the 16th Summit of the BRICS group of nations, beginning Tuesday.
During the three-day summit, being held under the chairmanship of Russia, he is expected to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from the BRICS member nations, including Chinese President Xi Jinping.
As PM Modi arrived at Hotel Korston in the heritage city of Kazan, Russian nationals warmly greeted him by singing a Krishna Bhajan. He also greeted and interacted with members of the Indian diaspora at the hotel.
He shared a post on X, “Landed in Kazan for the BRICS Summit. This is an important Summit, and the discussions here will contribute to a better planet.”
Randhir Jaiswal, the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, also shared a post on X, saying, “PM @narendramodi lands in the heritage city of Kazan, Russia. On arrival, the PM was warmly received by the Head of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov.”
The MEA said, “The Summit, themed ‘Strengthening Multilateralism for Just Global Development and Security,’ will provide an important platform for leaders to discuss key global issues.”
“The Summit will offer a valuable opportunity to assess the progress of initiatives launched by BRICS and to identify potential areas for future collaboration.”
This trip marks PM Modi’s second visit to Russia this year. In July, he attended the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit in Moscow and held a bilateral meeting with President Vladimir Putin, who decorated him with Russia’s highest civilian award, the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle, at the Kremlin.
BRIC, as a formal grouping, started after the meeting of the leaders of Russia, India, and China in St Petersburg on the margins of the G-8 Outreach Summit in 2006. It was formalized during the first meeting of BRIC Foreign Ministers on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York in 2006. The first BRIC Summit was held in Russia’s Yekaterinburg in 2009.
South Africa joined BRIC in 2011 while five new members—Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE—joined the group in 2024.