World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived in New Delhi on Saturday to attend the 18th BRICS Summit.
Welcoming Ghebreyesus, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on X that his visit underscored the importance of global cooperation on health-related matters for shared progress and prosperity.
Belarus Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov also arrived in the national capital to participate in the summit. Welcoming Ryzhenkov, the MEA said India and Belarus share warm and friendly relations, with growing cooperation across a broad range of areas in bilateral and multilateral spheres.
India is hosting the 18th BRICS Summit at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Saturday and Sunday, September 12-13. The summit brings 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 MEA.
On Friday, Philippine President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr arrived in New Delhi to attend the summit in his capacity as the current chair of ASEAN. He was received at the airport by Union Minister of State Anupriya Patel.
According to the MEA, India and ASEAN, an important pillar of New Delhi’s ‘Act East’ policy, maintain a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership focused on trade, maritime security and regional connectivity in the Indo-Pacific.
Several other leaders and senior officials, including World Trade Organisation Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, arrived in New Delhi on Friday for the summit.
Welcoming Okonjo-Iweala, the MEA said her participation would advance dialogue on inclusive trade and development and on ensuring that the global trading system delivers for all.
Following the arrival of Rodriguez Parrilla, the MEA said India and Cuba share warm and friendly ties and, as partners in the Global South, are working together to advance shared priorities.
Under India’s BRICS Chairship this year, more than 350 meetings and high-level engagements have been held across more than 25 cities to strengthen the grouping’s strategic partnership across three key pillars — political and security; economic and financial; and cultural and people-to-people exchanges.
Through these meetings, as well as business-to-business and people-to-people initiatives, India’s BRICS Chairship has sought to advance cooperation through practical and development-oriented outcomes.
