Chinese President Xi Jinping skips gala dinner hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 18th BRICS Summit, according to sources familiar with the matter. The dinner took place at Bharat Mandapam on Saturday, September 12, 2026, bringing together leaders from BRICS member and partner countries.
Who Was There, and Who Wasn’t
Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the dinner, along with senior Indian officials including Union ministers Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Ashwini Vaishnaw, and Shivraj Chouhan. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and several chief ministers, including Yogi Adityanath, Devendra Fadnavis, Suvendu Adhikari, and Himanta Biswa Sarma, also joined.
Xi was a notable absentee. The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, skipped the dinner too, but for a different reason: he had already left for home after attending the summit earlier in the day.
Why Xi Skipped the Dinner
No official reason was given for Xi’s absence. A source told reporters he likely returned to his hotel to rest after a full day that included summit sessions and his bilateral meeting with Modi. Xi had arrived in New Delhi that afternoon and gone straight to Bharat Mandapam for the summit proceedings.
What Was on the Menu
The all-vegetarian dinner spotlighted Indian cuisine. Dishes included khandvi mille-feuille, khumb galouti, paneer lababdar, gucchi marmik, carrot-bean poriyal, and millet pulao, with desserts like Old Delhi fruit cream with jalebi and shahtoot phirni. Despite the high-profile absence, the event went ahead as planned for the rest of the attendees.
