Modi Meets Leaders of Ethiopia, Malaysia, UAE and Vietnam Ahead of BRICS Summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a series of bilateral meetings with visiting world leaders in New Delhi as they arrived for the BRICS Summit 2026, engaging with counterparts from Ethiopia, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.

Modi met Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, with the two leaders embracing and shaking hands before walking together and holding discussions in the presence of their delegations.

The prime minister also held talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and later received H.H. Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, in a meeting that included a warm greeting and a round of conversations.

Separately, Modi met Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung, with the two leaders shaking hands in front of the Indian and Vietnamese flags before sitting down for bilateral talks.

The engagements took place as BRICS nations prepared to meet on Saturday for a summit centred on trade, investment and global conflicts, as the grouping seeks a larger role in shaping the international agenda for emerging and developing economies.

The summit is being held against the backdrop of the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, along with rising tensions between the United States and China, which test the bloc's capacity to find common ground among members with competing geopolitical interests.

China and Russia view BRICS as a means to reduce Western dominance, particularly that of the United States, while deepening cooperation among emerging and developing economies.

Founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India and China, with South Africa joining in 2010, BRICS has since expanded to 11 members, accounting for about half the world's population and a significant share of global economic output. The group has increasingly pressed for greater representation of developing countries in global institutions.