Noida Airport sees first foreign landing as three Russian planes arrive ahead of Putin-Modi meet, BRICS Summit 2026

Noida International Airport witnessed its first foreign aircraft landing as three Russian transport aircraft touched down on Tuesday amid the arrival of foreign leaders and their delegations in India ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit scheduled for the weekend, according to ANI.

The aircraft arrived ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s expected visit to New Delhi for the summit. Putin is also scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi for bilateral talks on Friday, a day before the multilateral gathering begins.

‘Trade and economic cooperation is a very wide scope’: Kremlin spokesperson

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had earlier confirmed that PM Modi and Putin were expected to hold their bilateral meeting on September 11. The discussions are likely to cover bilateral ties, including trade and economic cooperation.

“We're looking forward to the President and Prime Minister having another bilateral meeting during the visit. It is scheduled. It is scheduled for Friday, so first, like always, they will touch on the bilateral agenda. Trade and economic cooperation is a very wide scope,” Peskov said while speaking to reporters during a virtual briefing from Moscow.

Peskov mentioned Putin’s visit would provide an opportunity for India and Russia to review their bilateral ties, while expressing his wishes for India’s successful hosting of the BRICS Summit.

“In a couple of days, President Putin will begin his India visit. You know that our two leaders, Indian and Russian leaders, are in a very close personal contact. They are very pragmatic in their relationship, and they are as sincere as to be able to discuss in a very open and constructive way the most sensitive issues of our agenda and our bilateral relations. Of course, it opens additional horizons for our cooperation,” he added.

Peskov expressed confidence that the summit would be successful and said Russia was making efforts to strengthen cooperation among BRICS members across its three key areas: politics and security, economic and financial cooperation, and cultural and humanitarian exchanges. He further said that Russia supported the inclusion of new countries in various BRICS formats.

"We have no doubt that the summit will be successful. Russia, we are doing our best to contribute to further development of BRICS cooperation in the three main pillars of our interaction. So, those are policy and security, economy and finance, and cultural and humanitarian contexts. So, we are supporting the idea of inviting new countries to join different formats within BRICS," he said.

India is set to host the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12-13, 2026, under the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”