Who will attend BRICS Business Forum? Putin, Goyal, Jaishankar among key names

As India prepares to host the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, the BRICS Business Forum is set to bring together senior government officials, business leaders and corporate executives from across the expanded grouping ahead of the main leaders' meeting.

The business forum will take place on September 11, a day before the main BRICS Summit begins on September 12. It will provide a platform for policymakers and private sector representatives to discuss trade, investment, supply chains, agriculture, digital economy and cooperation among BRICS countries.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is also set to attend the forum during his September 11 to September 13 visit to India. According to the Kremlin, Putin will address the plenary session of the annual BRICS Business Forum on September 11.

Putin is also scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the same day. The two leaders will also visit the INNOPROM exhibition, organised by the industry and trade ministries of Russia and India.

"On September 11, Vladimir Putin will address the plenary session of the annual BRICS Business Forum, which traditionally precedes the summit and serves as an important platform for dialogue among business representatives from BRICS countries. On the same day, the President of Russia will hold a bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and, together with him, visit the INNOPROM exhibition, organised by the two countries’ ministries of industry and trade," the Kremlin said.

Who will attend the BRICS Business Forum?

According to the events listed on the BRICS Business Forum website, the programme includes an opening session, five thematic panels and a leaders' session. The forum will feature government ministers, business council representatives, corporate executives and leaders of the BRICS Women's Business Alliance.

Also Read: From Putin, Xi to Pezeshkian: Who is coming when for BRICS Summit in New Delhi? Check full schedule

Opening Session

The opening session will feature senior government officials and business leaders, including:

Piyush Goyal, Commerce and Industry Minister, Government of India.

S Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister, Government of India.

Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation.

Jitin Prasada, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Government of India.

Rajesh Agrawal, Secretary, Department of Commerce, Government of India.

Jai Shroff, Chair, BRICS Business Council and Chairman and Group CEO, UPL Ltd.

Avarna Jain, Chairperson, BRICS Women's Business Alliance and Vice Chairperson, Saregama India Ltd.

Nirmal K Minda, President, ASSOCHAM and Chairman, Uno Minda Ltd.

R Mukundan, President, CII and Managing Director and CEO, Tata Chemicals Ltd.

Anant Goenka, Member, BRICS Business Council, President, FICCI and Vice Chairman, RPG Group.

Panel 1: Strengthening trade and building resilient supply chains

The first panel will examine ways to reduce non tariff barriers and build more resilient supply chains across BRICS economies.

The session will feature:

Sharvil Patel, Managing Director, Zydus Lifesciences Ltd, India

José Serrador, Global Vice President, Embraer, Brazil

Mtho Xulu, President, South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry, South Africa

Beat Simon, COO, Global Logistics, DP World, UAE

Luciana Brum, Head of Foreign Relations, Vale, Brazil

Harsh Pati Singhania, Chair, International Chamber of Commerce

Parikshit Luthra, Director, Policy and Government Partnerships, The Convergence Foundation, is listed as the moderator.

Panel 2: Agriculture and agri tech

The second panel will focus on promoting agricultural products and agri tech startups across BRICS economies.

The session will feature:

Chen Gang, Vice President, COFCO Corporation and Chair, BRICS Business Council Agri business Working Group, China

Andrey Guryev, Chair, BRICS Business Council Russia and President, Russian Association of Fertilizer Producers, Russia

Busisiwe Mabuza, Chair, BRICS Business Council South Africa, South Africa

Sagar Kaushik, Chair, BRICS Business Council Agri business Working Group and President, UPL Limited, India

Islam Salem, CEO, Eden Investment and Agricultural Development, Egypt

Ahmad Al Hassan, CEO and MD, GCC Region, DP World, UAE

Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Member, BRICS Business Council and Chairman, Sun International Ltd, India, is listed as the moderator.

Panel 3: Intra BRICS trade in services

The third panel will discuss new pathways for expanding trade in services among BRICS economies.

The session will feature:

Aryaman Vikram Birla, Director, Aditya Birla Group and Member, BRICS Business Council, India

Yu Xubo, Chairman, China General Technology Group Holding Co Ltd and Member, BRICS Business Council, China

Anindya N Bakrie, Chair, BRICS Business Council Indonesia, Chairman, KADIN and CEO, Bakrie Brothers Tbk, Indonesia

Majid Ghassemi, Chair, BRICS Business Council Iran and CEO, Bank of Pasargad, Iran

Kenenisa Lemi, Secretary General, Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations, Ethiopia

John Denton, Secretary General, International Chamber of Commerce

Nilachal Mishra, Partner and Head, Government and Public Sector, KPMG India, is listed as the moderator.

Panel 4: Women in business

The fourth panel will focus on women in business and their role in building partnerships across BRICS economies.

The session will feature:

Monica Monteiro, Chairperson, BRICS WBA Brazil and Senior Executive Advisor, CNBC Brazil, Brazil

Zhao Haiying, Chairperson, BRICS WBA China, China

Marianne Ghali, Chairperson, BRICS WBA Egypt and Managing Director, Qalaa Holdings, Egypt

Zahra Rahaie, Chairperson, BRICS WBA Iran and Founder and CEO, Navak Chemipakhsh, Iran

Anna Nesterova, Chairperson, BRICS WBA Russia and Founder, Palekh Watch, Russia

Lebogang Zulu, Chairperson, BRICS WBA South Africa and CEO, AV Group, South Africa

Feryal Ahmadi, Chairperson, BRICS WBA UAE and Deputy CEO and COO, DMCC, UAE

Avarna Jain, Chairperson, BRICS WBA and Vice Chairperson, Saregama India Ltd, is listed as the moderator.

Panel 5: Digital economy and innovation

The fifth panel will focus on the digital economy and innovation across the BRICS grouping.

The session will feature:

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder and CEO, Paytm, India

Alexander Vedyakhin, First Deputy Chairman of Executive Board, Sberbank, Russia

Shahab Javanmardy, CEO, FANAP ICT Holding Co, Iran

Ziaad Suleman, Chair, Digital Economy Working Group, South Africa Chapter, BRICS Business Council, South Africa

Alison Aguiar Basso, Head, Tokyo, Banco do Brasil, Brazil

Tejpreet Singh Chopra, Founder and CEO, Bharat Light & Power Group, is listed as the moderator.

Leaders' Session

The BRICS Business Forum programme also includes a Leaders' Session featuring heads of state from BRICS member countries.

Several heads of state are expected to participate in the high level session as part of the wider BRICS Summit. However, the names of the participating leaders have not yet been confirmed on the BRICS Business Forum website.

The main BRICS Summit will be held in New Delhi on September 12 and September 13 under India's chairship, following the business forum on September 11.