Car Diplomacy At BRICS: PM Modi-Putin Shared Drive In New Delhi Sends Strong Global South Unity Message To West

New Delhi: The day before BRICS was to formally begin, New Delhi already had its defining image, which immediately began trending. On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a short video sum-up of the day that included a striking visual, capturing clip of PM Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin travelling in the same car to the INNOPROM exhibition at Bharat Mandapam after their bilateral meeting.

Earlier, Putin had arrived in the morning in New Delhi ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit, welcomed by MoS External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh. Later in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks with the Russian President for about 45 minutes focused on India-Russia strategic partnership, and then both did their signature drive in a car together and left for the exhibition venue. The viral footage showed them heading to the venue in a car, marking their 4th confirmed shared ride.

The joint drive, though it was short one, carried more weight than the distance. The 18th BRICS Summit, hosted by India on September 12-13 at ‘Bharat Mandapam’ under the theme ‘Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Security’, is being held at a moment of acute geopolitical friction. The US has imposed penal tariffs on India for continued purchase of Russian crude, with talk of secondary sanctions. To stage a shared car ride to a business exhibition on BRICS Business Forum day, with President Putin set to address the forum later, is to use informality as messaging. The experts explained that the ride of the two leaders describes continuity of ties will not be hidden in closed rooms.

Why The Car Matters

The foreign experts, who moniter the India-Russia bilateral developments closely, asserted that a car is the smallest diplomatic room. No flags, no delegation table, no teleprompters, conversation is off-mic and aides are outside, which creates political cover for candour.

Notably, the precedent was set in Tianjin, as in September 2025, on the sidelines of the 25th SCO Summit, Russian President Putin offered PM Narendra Modi a lift in his ‘Aurus Senat’ limousine from the SCO venue to their bilateral meeting hotel. The Russian President waited for about 10 minutes for PM Modi to join him. The 15-minute drive extended to nearly an hour inside the parked car, with Russian radio VestiFM reporting that the two leaders continued their one-to-one dialogue after reaching the hotel and did not deboard for a further 45 minutes, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said they had a tete-a-tete for about an hour.

Putin later disclosed he had briefed PM Modi on his Alaska talks with US President Donald Trump during the ride. Prime Minister Modi himself posted, "Conversations with him are always insightful."

And now, Friday's ride becomes even more crucial as it re-created a private channel that has already proved substantive.

Countable History Of Car Diplomacy

The car diplomacy is not every motorcade, but it is only when two leaders share the same vehicle. As per reports, the count is now 4 for PM Modi-Putin alone, and 7 overall in less than a year:

1. September 1, 2025, Tianjin, China: PM Modi and President Putin in Aurus from SCO venue to bilateral hotel.
2. December 4-5, 2025, New Delhi: PM Modi broke protocol to receive President Putin at Palam airport. They left together in a white Toyota Fortuner to 7 Lok Kalyan Marg for a private dinner, with the Aurus following behind.
3. Late August 2025, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan: After their bilateral on SCO sidelines, PM Modi and President Putin took a car ride to the opening ceremony of the VI World Nomad Games.
4. September 11, 2026, New Delhi: After bilateral talks at Bharat Mandapam, PM Modi and President Putin shared a car to the INNOPROM exhibition.

Car Diplomacy As Geopolitical Strategy

The experts emphasised that a gesture, which began as a spontaneous gesture, has become a deliberate visual grammar. A shared car signals comfort, familiarity and trust, with traits diplomats note often underpin stronger strategic ties. and it is an extension of multi-alignment for India.

On Friday, that multi-alignment was on full display, as during the bilateral meeting, PM Modi gifted President Putin a Russian translation of the ‘Thirukkural’, the 2000-year-old Tamil classic of 1330 couplets, saying it would increase people-to-people contact. Sources stated that the discussion included taking bilateral trade to USD 100 billion by 2030 and the success of INNOPROM India.

The experts suggested that handshakes, hugs, car-diplomacy and thers are precisely how PM Modi balances competing camps. He can share a car with Vladimir Putin in the morning and host the entire BRICS constituency in the afternoon, while keeping channels open with Washington and Brussels. The vehicle becomes a neutral zone where strategic autonomy is performed rather than just declared.

Global South Signal To The West

BRICS in 2026 is no longer the original five and with Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Indonesia as full members, it is a platform for the Global South to demand reform of the UN and international financial institutions. As per South Africa's President noted, the summit's backdrop is ongoing geopolitical tensions and major-power competition.

Now, the image of two leaders heding to an exhibition for Global South audiences conveys partnership of equals and for the West, it is a reminder that tariff pressure has not reduced India's willingness to be seen with Russia, especially when that relationship is framed as economic and cultural, not just defence.

The Delhi drive between the two leaders was more than a photo opportunity. Whether Sochi, Tianjin, Bishkek or New Delhi, PM Modi and President Putin have built a private channel inside a very public car. On the eve of a summit that seeks to shape a more multipolar order, that car rolling into Bharat Mandapam carried a clear signal, will India drive its own foreign policy, offer the passenger seat to partners across divides, and let the West and the Global South draw their own conclusions.