New Delhi, Sep 12 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday shared moments of warm camaraderie with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, as the three leaders were seen holding hands and exchanging smiles during the BRICS Summit at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.

Sharing the sidelights on his X, PM Modi posted: "BRICS Summit 2026 gets underway in Delhi".

The visuals and photographs echoed a similar display of camaraderie between PM Modi, Putin, and Xi during the 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit held in Bishkek last month, where the three leaders smiled and shook hands on August 31. The moment unfolded during the official family photograph, an established tradition at the annual SCO gathering.

The 2025 SCO Plus Summit in Tianjin on August 31-September 1 had also produced several notable visuals of the three leaders. PM Modi’s embrace with Putin, his walk alongside Xi and Putin, and his interactions with both leaders highlighted the personal bonhomie shared between the top leaders.

The latest visuals from New Delhi came after PM Modi welcomed BRICS leaders at Bharat Mandapam, the venue for the 18th BRICS Summit.

PM Modi warmly received President Putin, President Xi Jinping, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and other leaders at the Bharat Mandapam ahead of the Summit.

India is hosting the 18th BRICS Summit at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Saturday and Sunday (September 12-13), bringing together leaders from BRICS member and partner countries, along with outreach invitees.

India's BRICS Chairship is guided by the theme: 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability', reflecting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a people-centric approach rooted in the spirit of 'Humanity First', according to the statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

In his welcome remarks at the opening BRICS session on 'Inclusive Global Governance and Strengthening Multilateralism' in New Delhi on Saturday, PM Modi extended a warm welcome to BRICS leaders and said that India's BRICS chairship is based on a people-centric and humanity-first approach.

"Resilience, innovation, cooperation, and sustainability have been our priorities. Alongside these priorities, we have placed special emphasis on connecting BRICS cooperation with the common people. With this vision in mind, more than 350 meetings were organised. We had the opportunity to welcome your teams to approximately 30 cities," highlighted PM Modi.

He emphasised that BRICS has established a distinct identity on the global stage and said that the bloc is not against anyone and must work to move forward with the approach of taking everyone along. He called for the establishment of a 'BRICS Continuity and Implementation' mechanism.

--IANS

scor/as