New Delhi: Chinese President Xi Jinping and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed were the most prominent absentees at the gala dinner Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted on Saturday night for leaders at the 18th BRICS Summit, people familiar with the matter said.
The dinner was held at Bharat Mandapam after the first day’s closed plenary on inclusive global governance, a visit to the Bharat Innovates exposition, a family photograph and a tree-planting ceremony. Russian President Vladimir Putin attended, as did Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Xi had arrived in New Delhi only that afternoon — his first visit to India in seven years — attended the summit session and held a bilateral meeting with Modi. There was no official explanation from Beijing or New Delhi for his absence from the dinner. Sources said he returned to his hotel to rest after a long flight and a compressed schedule; some accounts cited fatigue from the time difference. Sheikh Khaled’s absence had been expected: he left for home after completing his engagements, including a meeting with Modi. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived in the capital later as a late addition.
Union ministers and chief ministers travelled together in two buses from the Parliament House complex to Bharat Mandapam under tight security. Those reported present included Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Sarbananda Sonowal and Kiren Rijiju, along with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. Chief ministers at the dinner included Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh), Devendra Fadnavis (Maharashtra), Suvendu Adhikari (West Bengal), Himanta Biswa Sarma (Assam), Pushkar Singh Dhami (Uttarakhand) and Rekha Gupta (Delhi). Ministers were seated at different tables with visiting delegations.
The host served an all-vegetarian Indian menu: khandvi mille-feuille and khumb galouti among the starters; paneer lababdar, gucchi marmik, carrot-bean poriyal and millet pulao among the mains; and Old Delhi fruit cream with jalebi and shahtoot phirni for dessert. A large ensemble, billed as the BRICS Symphony, performed with artistes from India and other member countries.
Xi’s dinner no-show came hours after footage showed Modi briefly pausing his opening remarks and asking whether the Chinese president was comfortable. The two leaders later discussed bilateral ties, business and transport links, and peace along the disputed border. Officials did not link the dinner absence to those talks or to the menu.
India is hosting the two-day summit under its 2026 BRICS chairship. Sunday’s programme includes an open session on resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability and the release of the New Delhi Declaration.
