PM Modi, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled hold bilateral talks at BRICS Summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi. They discussed strengthening India-UAE ties and cooperation in trade, energy and defence.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on Saturday.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and other officials were also present at the meeting.

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Prior to the meeting, PM Modi and Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan shared a warm hug and greeted each other.

Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived in New Delhi on Friday to attend the 18th BRICS Summit being hosted by India under its chairship.

“Warmly welcome Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi H.H. Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi. He was received by MoS Kirti Vardhan Singh at the airport,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated on X.

“The visit will be an opportunity to further strengthen India-UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership centred on robust trade and energy security for shared prosperity,” it added.

As BRICS Chair 2026, India is set to host the two-day 18th BRICS Summit at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi from today.

India’s BRICS chairship is guided by the theme: ‘Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability’, reflecting PM Modi’s vision of a people-centric approach rooted in the spirit of “Humanity First”. In addition to these areas, the leaders will discuss strengthening intra-BRICS cooperation on common priorities and share perspectives on global and regional matters of mutual importance.

BRICS comprises Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates. BRICS partner countries are: Belarus, Cuba, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s visit to India comes after PM Modi and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in France’s Evian on June 16.

“Had a very good meeting with my brother, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. We discussed India-UAE ties across sectors and ways to further energise our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Once again expressed gratitude to him and the UAE government for the care and concern for the Indian community living in the UAE,” PM Modi wrote on X.

This was the third meeting between the two leaders in 2026 as they previously met during PM Modi’s visit to UAE in May and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s visit to India in January this year.

During the meeting, the two leaders reviewed progress and positive developments in bilateral cooperation, including in the areas of technology, trade, investment, energy, and defence, according to the statement released by MEA. Both leaders also exchanged views on regional and global developments of mutual interest.