BRICS 2026: Russia Talks Investment, Canada Pitches Minerals as Delhi Gets Down to Business

The leaders’ summit begins on September 12. The business of building partnerships is already underway.

As foreign delegations arrived in New Delhi on Friday, India and Russia agreed to advance negotiations on an investment treaty, Canada pitched itself as a dependable supplier of critical minerals, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar worked on strengthening ties with Uruguay and Brazil.

Together, the engagements offered an early view of the economic interests converging around the 18th BRICS Summit: securing resources, attracting investment, widening market access and finding partners in an uncertain trading environment.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ arrival added to a growing roster of international guests. But alongside the airport welcomes, a series of meetings was giving substance to the summit’s broad promise of cooperation.

Russia: Investment Talks Gather Pace

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov on Friday, with investment and financial services central to their discussions.

According to the finance ministry, the two sides agreed to advance negotiations on a Bilateral Investment Treaty aimed at strengthening investment flows and economic engagement.

“It was agreed to advance negotiations on a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), with a view to establishing a mutually beneficial framework for enhancing investment flows and economic engagement,” the ministry said on X.

The meeting also explored opportunities for closer cooperation in financial services. The agreement to move negotiations forward gives the relationship a specific economic task ahead of the leaders’ discussions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has arrived in New Delhi, is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday. Their talks are expected to cover trade resilience, cross-border payments, energy security and possible approaches to conflicts in Eastern Europe and West Asia.

The two leaders are also scheduled to visit the INNOPROM exhibition, organised by the industry and trade ministries of India and Russia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Manturov were among the senior Russian representatives who arrived early on Friday.

Canada’s Pitch: An “Island of Security”

The search for closer economic ties extended beyond BRICS membership.

Speaking on the sidelines of the summit, Canadian High Commissioner Christopher Cooter said Canada wanted to become a trusted, major supplier of the critical minerals India needs for its green transition, semiconductor development and wider industrial growth.

His pitch centred on reliability at a time of uncertainty in trade and political relationships.

“We want to be kind of an island of security for India,” he said.

Cooter described Canada as a “critical mineral superpower” and said it had abundant deposits of the minerals on India’s critical minerals list. He outlined a partnership extending from purchases of raw materials to investment in each other’s supply chains, including processing and the integration of minerals into advanced technologies.

He also pointed to opportunities to combine Canadian resources, technology and mining expertise with Indian talent and industrial demand.

The proposal builds on a memorandum of understanding signed in July to support secure, resilient and diversified critical mineral supply chains. The framework covers trade, investment and exchanges of technical knowledge across exploration, mining, beneficiation and processing.

Cooter said negotiations on an India-Canada free trade agreement were ongoing and expressed hope that they would conclude. Lower tariffs, he argued, could make certain Canadian minerals more competitive for Indian buyers while giving businesses another source of supply.

He also described a trade agreement as a signal that both countries were open to doing more business with each other. No completion date was announced in his remarks.

Latin America: Trade, Connectivity and Solar Ties

While Canada’s pitch focused on resources, India’s meetings with Latin American representatives covered a wider range of opportunities.

Jaishankar met Uruguayan Foreign Minister Mario Lubetkin on Friday, with the two sides agreeing on a focused roadmap to advance trade, connectivity and cultural ties.

“A good conversation on advancing our ties including in trade, connectivity and culture. Agreed on a focused roadmap to that end,” Jaishankar wrote on X. He also thanked Uruguay for supporting deeper Indian engagement with the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, or CELAC, and MERCOSUR, the Southern Common Market.

The meeting included a concrete step on clean-energy cooperation: Lubetkin handed over Uruguay’s Instrument of Ratification to the International Solar Alliance.

The engagement comes as India prepares to open an embassy in Uruguay next month, a move welcomed by Uruguay’s Ambassador to India, Alberto Antonio Guani Amarilla. Binoy George was appointed India’s next ambassador to Uruguay in July.

Amarilla has called for more high-level exchanges, saying Uruguay would welcome a visit by Modi and would also like its president to visit India. He pointed to scope for stronger economic cooperation as India works towards its ambition of becoming a developed economy.

Brazil also featured in Jaishankar’s diplomatic schedule. In talks with Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, the two sides discussed expanding cooperation in trade and investment, defence, energy, agriculture and space.

These engagements connect India’s BRICS diplomacy with its wider effort to deepen partnerships across Latin America.

The Guest List Grows

The meetings unfolded as more delegations reached the capital.

Guterres was received on Friday by Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Ugandan Vice President Jessica Alupo were welcomed by Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Jayant Chaudhary.

South Africa is a BRICS member, while Uganda participates as a partner country.

Other arrivals included Lubetkin, Nigerian Foreign Affairs Minister Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Maria Theresa P Lazaro and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank President Zou Jiayi.

Their presence brings member countries, partners, other invited governments and international institutions into the discussions surrounding the September 12–13 summit.

India’s chairship is guided by the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”. Friday’s engagements began translating those broad priorities into specific proposals: an investment framework with Russia, mineral supply chains with Canada and expanded trade and diplomatic ties with Latin America.

The next step is to carry those proposals through negotiations and into working partnerships. For now, Delhi’s BRICS diary already has business on every page.

With inputs from ANI