Chinese President Xi Jinping did not attend the special dinner hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the first day of the BRICS summit. It is reported that along with Jinping, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohammed and some other leaders were also absent from the dinner. Jinping, who arrived in New Delhi on Saturday afternoon for the BRICS summit, held bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Modi after which he was not seen at the official dinner hosted for BRICS leaders and dignitaries.
However, it is understood that Jinping was extremely tired due to the long journey and time zone change. After landing in Delhi, Jinping participated in a series of official events. His first day’s schedule was busy as he had a meeting with Modi along with the BRICS summit.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, attended the dinner hosted by Modi. Union ministers and the CMs of several states also attended the dinner. Union ministers and chief ministers arrived at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi in two buses from Parliament House and attended the banquet. Union ministers included Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Ashwini Vaishnav and Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari and Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sharma were also present.
The two-day BRICS meetings concluded on Sunday. The next 19th BRICS summit is going to be held in China. Leaders of 11 member countries, 10 partner countries and representatives of several international organizations participated in the summit. Prime Minister Modi also participated in bilateral meetings with several heads of state on the second day.
