Xi Jinping landed in Delhi for his first India visit since 2019 and the 2020 Galwan clash, as Modi held morning bilaterals with the leaders of Ethiopia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Abu Dhabi at Hyderabad House.
At Bharat Mandapam Modi opened the summit declaring BRICS was not against anyone, calling for UNSC reform, a shift from pyramid of privilege to platform of partnership and a people-centric, humanity-first approach for the Global South.
Negotiators who had worked until 4am secured consensus on the New Delhi Declaration, bridging Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The text condemned unilateral war and unilateral tariffs without naming countries, and condemned the Pahalgam attack with a zero-tolerance pledge on terrorism, framed as an Indian diplomatic win.
The day closed with the first Modi-Xi bilateral on Indian soil in seven years, where Modi said differences should not become disputes and border peace was essential.