Modi’s bilateral meetings on BRICS sidelines put defence, security cooperation in focus
On the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, India held a series of separate bilateral meetings with the leaderships of Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Uganda, Nigeria, South Africa, and Burundi, among other countries.
Defence and security cooperation featured prominently across these engagements, alongside trade, investment, technology, connectivity, and people-to-people ties.
With the Philippines, discussions covered defence and security, trade and investment, space, railway infrastructure, fintech, and science and technology cooperation; with Kazakhstan, the agenda spanned political, trade, defence and security, connectivity, energy, and critical-minerals cooperation.
With African partners — Nigeria, Uganda, South Africa, and Burundi — the Indian side emphasised trade, clean energy, capacity building, technology partnerships, and development cooperation, alongside defence engagement with Nigeria specifically.
Indian officials described a total of roughly 15 bilateral meetings held over the three days of summit-related engagements, reflecting the diplomatic bandwidth BRICS host years generate for a country's wider bilateral agenda.
India-Philippines Defence Cooperation and the BrahMos Export
India-Philippines defence ties have been institutionalised since a 2006 Defence Cooperation Agreement and a 2017 MoU on Defence Industry and Logistics Cooperation, culminating in the landmark 2022 agreement under which the Philippines became BrahMos's first-ever foreign customer.
Key Details
- The Philippines-India BrahMos supersonic cruise missile deal, signed in 2022, is worth approximately USD 375 million for shore-based anti-ship missile batteries.
- Deliveries have proceeded in batteries: the first arrived by air in April 2024, the second by sea in April 2025, with the third battery scheduled for 2025-26 — making the Philippines the first operational foreign user of BrahMos.
- This defence export sits within India's "Act East Policy" (launched 2014) and its SAGAR ("Security and Growth for All in the Region") maritime doctrine, both aimed at deepening security partnerships across the Indo-Pacific amid South China Sea tensions.
Continued India-Philippines discussion of "defence and security cooperation" at the BRICS sidelines builds directly on the operational BrahMos relationship, reinforcing India's profile as a credible defence exporter and Indo-Pacific security partner — a frequently tested theme under India's Act East Policy.
India-Kazakhstan Ties and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)
India and Kazakhstan's defence and security dialogue takes place against the backdrop of shared membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the Eurasian security and economic grouping founded in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
Key Details
- India (along with Pakistan) became a full SCO member in 2017; Iran joined in 2023 and Belarus in 2024, making the SCO a 10-member bloc as of 2026.
- The SCO's founding mandate centres on combating terrorism, separatism, and extremism (the "three evils"), alongside promoting regional security, connectivity, and economic cooperation across Central and South Asia.
- Kazakhstan, as a founding SCO member and a Central Asian state along prospective International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) alignments, is a key partner for India's connectivity and counter-terrorism cooperation in the region.
The India-Kazakhstan bilateral's coverage of "defence and security" and "connectivity" reflects the substance of their shared SCO engagement, where counter-terrorism cooperation and Central Asian connectivity are standing agenda items independent of the bilateral relationship itself.
IBSA, the India-Africa Forum Summit, and India's Lines of Credit Diplomacy
India's engagement with South Africa, Nigeria, Uganda, and Burundi draws on two distinct but complementary institutional tracks: the trilateral IBSA Dialogue Forum (India-Brazil-South Africa) and the India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS), India's principal platform for continent-wide African engagement.
Key Details
- IBSA was formalised on 6 June 2003 in Brasilia through the "Brasilia Declaration," bringing together three large Southern-hemisphere democracies to promote South-South cooperation; South Africa is also a founding BRICS member (the "S" in BRICS since 2010).
- The India-Africa Forum Summit was established in 2008 as India's apex institutional mechanism for Africa engagement, covering political, security, economic, and developmental cooperation; its 4th edition was hosted in India in 2026.
- India has extended more than 190 Lines of Credit worth over USD 10 billion to 41 African countries under this framework, alongside capacity-building and skill-development programmes referenced in the Uganda and Burundi discussions.
The India-Africa bilaterals' focus on capacity building, clean energy, and development cooperation (Uganda, Burundi) alongside defence and trade (Nigeria) reflects the substantive priorities of India's IAFS-anchored Africa policy, distinct from — but overlapping with — South Africa's separate role as a BRICS founding member and IBSA partner.
- India-Philippines BrahMos deal: signed 2022, valued at approximately USD 375 million; Philippines is BrahMos's first foreign customer.
- SCO: founded 2001; 10 full members as of 2026 (China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Belarus); India joined 2017.
- IBSA Dialogue Forum: formalised 6 June 2003 (Brasilia Declaration), grouping India, Brazil, South Africa.
- India-Africa Forum Summit: established 2008; over 190 Lines of Credit worth USD 10+ billion extended to 41 African countries.
- Bilateral meetings held by the Indian side across the 2026 BRICS Summit period: approximately 15, spanning Asia, Africa, and Eurasia.