New Delhi [India], September 8 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold bilateral talks with several leaders on the sidelines of the upcoming BRICS Summit 2026, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Tuesday, while maintaining that the details of the participating leaders and the meetings will be shared separately.

Addressing a biweekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict will be among the issues that could come up during the Prime Minister's bilateral discussions.

"Our Prime Minister will hold bilateral talks with numerous leaders during the BRICS summit. Detailed information regarding the specific leaders and the timing of these meetings will be provided to you. As for the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine--this is one of the many issues that will come up during the bilateral discussions," Jaiswal said.

On the participation of heads of state and government in the upcoming BRICS Summit, Jaiswal said the Ministry would provide an update on the participation.

"We will update you on the participation. But at this point, I would say that please wait for an update from our side," he said.

Asked specifically about Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's participation in the BRICS Summit, Jaiswal said he did not have any update. "I don't have any update," the MEA spokesperson said.

India is set to host the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12-13, 2026, marking a pivotal moment for the rapidly evolving intergovernmental forum of major emerging market economies and developing nations.

Initially established as the BRIC alliance comprising Brazil, Russia, India, and China, which convened its first Foreign Ministers' meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in 2006 and held its inaugural summit in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2009, the group expanded to BRICS following South Africa's admission in 2011.

The grouping has since undergone a transformative expansion, welcoming Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE as full members in January 2024, followed by Indonesia in January 2025. Today, featuring 11 full member states alongside an expanding array of partner nations, the alliance commands significant global economic and diplomatic influence.

Guided by India's 2026 chairship theme, "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability," New Delhi's vision focuses on steering the agenda beyond routine political coordination towards tangible, practical cooperation across commerce, agriculture, healthcare, energy, digital technology, urban development, small enterprise empowerment, startups, climate action, and cultural exchanges.

India's chairship framework is organised around four primary pillars, starting with Resilience, which aims to protect institutions, societies, and economies from supply-chain disruptions, health crises, geopolitical shocks, and climate risks.

Innovation forms the second pillar, concentrating on the deployment of artificial intelligence, financial technologies, digital public infrastructure, and data-driven systems.

The third pillar, Cooperation, focuses on broadening trade flows, institutional linkages, development financing, and economic policy alignment. The fourth pillar, Sustainability, seeks to promote global climate action, green finance, energy transitions, and sustainable development, ensuring that established mechanisms deliver enduring operational benefits beyond the summit.

In economic governance and trade, the alliance has advanced the Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership 2030 while reaffirming support for a robust multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core. To fortify trade corridors, member states have adopted the BRICS Global Value Chains Action Plan 2026-2030, alongside guiding principles designed to assess export-oriented micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). (ANI)