BRICS summit 2018: Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg on Thursday. PM said the friendship between India and Russia is deep-rooted. Recalling his earlier visit to Sochi, Modi opined that the friendship between India and Russia was moving forward. The Prime Minister also congratulated Putin for successfully organising the FIFA World Cup 2018, adding that hosting the event "has given a boost to power and image of Russia.

PM Modi arrived in Johannesburg on Wednesday to attend the two-day BRICS Summit. The theme of the summit this year is 'BRICS in Africa'. Besides several orther leaders, PM also met Chinese President Xi Jinping. This is their third meeting in last four months. Both the leaders held talks to further friendship between India and China.

A tweet posted by the Prime Minister's Office read, "Furthering India-China friendship. PM @narendramodi and President Xi Jinping hold talks on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in South Africa."

In April this year, Prime Minister Modi had visited China for an informal summit with President Xi.

About BRICS

BRICS is a grouping of five major emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Originally the first four were grouped as "BRIC", before the induction of South Africa in 2010.

(With inputs from agencies)