FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | MUMBAI | BHUBANESWAR | LUCKNOW | SILIGURI | Saturday, 12 September 2026 SPORTS SATURDAY INTERVIEW ‘No dearth of doctors in hills’ WORLD Saudi airstrikes hit Mokha airport as Houthis take island EDITORIAL The Mundhe problem Page 7 Page 6 Page 9 Modi meets Putin, backs dialogue, diplomacy to resolve conflicts NIKHIL VYAS New Delhi, 11 September A t a meeting here with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated that dialogue and diplomacy remained the way forward to resolve the conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia and that India stood ready to assist in peace efforts. The key talks were held a day ahead of the commencement of the two-day 18th BRICS Summit India is hosting with “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability” as its theme. During the 45-minute meeting at Bharat Mandapam, PM Modi and President Putin shared perspectives on key regional and global issues of mutual interest, including the conflicts in West Asia and the Black Sea region, which have impacted maritime trade and the safety and security of Indian seafarers. The two leaders reviewed progress in bilateral cooperation in political, economic, defence, energy, space, skill mobility and people-to-people domains, the Ministry of External Affairs said. PM Modi and the Russian President discussed closer trade ties, including the implementation of the Programme for Economic Cooperation 2030, as well as cooperation in infrastructure, energy, technology, defence and culture. “Delighted to meet President Putin in Delhi, less than two weeks after our meeting in Bishkek. During today’s meeting we talked about: Closer trade ties, including implementation of the Programme for Economic Cooperation 2030. Cooperation in areas like infrastructure, energy, technology, defence, culture and more. India’s efforts Modi-Xi Jinping meet could reset Delhi-Beijing ties ASHOK TUTEJA New Delhi, 11 September Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet here on Saturday on the margins of the 18th BRICS Summit, with optimism on both sides that their talks will push forward the normalisation process between their two nations. The Chinese leader will arrive in the afternoon at the head of a high-level delegation for his first visit to India in seven years. He last visited the country in October 2019 for an informal summit with PM Modi at Mammalapuram near Chennai. The meeting between the two leaders will take place some time in the evening. The long-pending border issue and trade and economic cooperation between the two countries will be high on the agenda when the two leaders meet. New Delhi, 11 September Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday called for a sharper, business-led economic integration among BRICS countries, setting out an ambitious three-part agenda to remove the top 10 trade barriers among the bloc’s members, help 100 start-ups scale into other BRICS markets every year and create 1,000 new business partnerships annually. Addressing the BRICS Business Forum in New Delhi ahead of the 18th BRICS Leaders' Summit, Mr Modi said the grouping's expanding economic weight must translate into greater commercial engagement, Pezeshkian flags US pressure, calls for resilient BRICS economy STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 11 September Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chinese President Xi Jinping as they attend a ceremony to welcome Heads of States of the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation), in Tianjin, China, Sunday, 31 August 2025. IANS FILE PHOTO The meeting comes days after Special Representatives (SRs) of the two countries on the boundary dispute met and resolved that peace and tranquillity in the border areas must be maintained at all costs. India has been insisting that peace on the border is a prerequisite to normalising bilateral ties while China says the two countries should put the border dispute on the backburner and concentrate on enhancing trade and economic cooperation. In his meeting with President Xi, the PM is expected to seek better market access and draw his attention to the widening trade imbalance between the two countries. China may seek relaxation in India’s investment rules, which were tightened after the eastern Ladakh military stand-off, and fair treatment for its companies. PM urges BRICS businesses to tear down trade barriers STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE during our BRICS Presidency aimed at furthering the welfare of our planet,” PM Modi said in a post on X. The MEA said: “They (PM Modi and President Putin) welcomed Russia’s International Industrial Exhibition “INNOPROM India”, which was held for the first time in India from 9-11 September 2026 and underscored its importance in further expanding trade and industrial ties. The two leaders also visited the INNOPROM India exhibition and interacted with the participants.” The leaders exchanged views on India-Russia engagement in the multilateral sphere, in particular in BRICS under India’s Chairship for 2026. They agreed to remain engaged in efforts to further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between the two countries, which continues to register significant growth and has shown resilience in the backdrop of geopolitical innovation, investment and shared prosperity at a time when businesses worldwide are confronting trade barriers, geopolitical uncertainty and fragile supply chains. “Strong business partnerships can open new avenues for growth, innovation and shared prosperity,” Mr Modi said, urging corporate leaders, investors, entrepreneurs and innovators to move beyond broad declarations and deliver measurable results. The Prime Minister said BRICS had undergone a remarkable transformation since its launch in 2006, when it comprised four countries. Today, he said, BRICS and its partner countries together form a 21country family representing about half the world's population, 40 per cent of global GDP and more than 25 per cent of global trade. He said that while global GDP had increased roughly two-and-a-half times over the past two decades, the combined GDP of BRICS countries had grown around four-and-a-half times. Mr Modi pitched for reducing barriers to trade and investment within the grouping at a time when protectionism and economic fragmentation are complicating global commerce, while linking economic cooperation to the security of global trade routes at a time when geopolitical tensions have exposed vulnerabilities in international supply chains. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday called for greater economic resilience among BRICS countries, warning against the use of financial instruments, technology and economic pressure as tools of political coercion, in an apparent reference to US sanctions and the recent military conflict involving Iran. Addressing the BRICS Business Forum here, Mr Pezeshkian said the global economy was passing through one of its most complex periods, marked by geopolitical uncertainty, supply-chain disruptions and the increasing use of economic instruments to exert political pressure. His remarks come amid an ongoing military conflict with the United States and Israel. Mr Pezeshkian’s India visit is his first as Iranian President and his first visit to the country since the conflict began in February 2026. Referring to the impact of the conflict, Mr Pezeshkian said Iran had faced extensive sanctions for years, but the pressure had recently entered a “far more dangerous phase” following what he described as the “military act of aggression of the US and the Israeli regime against the Islamic Republic of Iran.” “This act of aggression, in addition to its human and material losses, once again revealed an important reality: economic security cannot be separated from national and regional security,” he said. The Iranian President argued that military or political pressure on a country’s trade, energy, infrastructure or financial systemscouldhaveconsequences extending well beyond its borders and affect regional and global stability. uncertainties. President Putin invited PM Modi to visit Russia for the 24th India-Russia Annual Summit which the latter accepted. At the start of their bilateral meeting, PM Modi presented President Putin with the Russian translation of the Thirukkural, written by the great Indian Tamil poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar. “Presented President Putin with a Russian translation of the Thirukkural, which carries the eternal wisdom of the great Thiruvalluvar across languages and borders,” Mr Modi said in a post on X. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval were among part of PM Modi’s delegation while Putin’s delegation included Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov and several other top officials. • More reports: Page 5 Rybakina rallies past Gauff to set up US Open final against Sabalenka Page 12 Russian President slams West for ‘ugly’ economic coercion PARWINDER SANDHU New Delhi, 11 September Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday accused Western countries of turning economic competition into “ugly” coercive tactics, including sanctions, attempts to block transport corridors and threats against countries that refuse to toe their line, as he asserted that Russia had withstood more than 30,000 sanctions. Addressing the BRICS Business Forum, Mr Putin said such restrictions were increasingly being deployed at the state level to protect the interests of established economic powers facing growing competition from emerging economies. He alleged that pipelines were being destroyed, international transport corridors obstructed and maritime vessels targeted, while “secondary sanctions” were being threatened against countries seeking to pursue their own national interests. “You know that more than Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during the BRICS Business Forum 2026 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Friday. IANS 30,000 sanctions have been slapped on Russia,” Putin said, claiming the figure was twice the number of sanctions imposed on all other countries in the world combined. Despite what he described as intense external pressure, Mr Putin said Russia had strengthened its national sovereignty and redirected its economic and trade ties towards “reliable, predictable partners”. He said structural changes had made the Russian economy “more resilient, more agile, and more mobile”. Mr Putin also claimed that countries responsible for imposing sanctions were themselves facing economic difficulties, including industrial decline, budget deficits and rising public debt. Leading Eurozone economies, he said, had recorded an 8 per cent decline in industrial output over the past several years. “These are facts of life,” Mr Putin said, arguing that the economic consequences of sanctions pressure could be seen in the countries that initiated it.