September will be a busy month for Indian diplomacy, beginning in Central Asia, moving to New Delhi and ending in New York.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Uzbekistan on 29 and 30 August before attending the SCO Council of Heads of State meeting in Bishkek on 31 August and 1 September. Bilateral trade with Uzbekistan is nearing $1 billion, while mining, rare earths, energy and connectivity are emerging as important areas of cooperation.
The Bishkek meeting will mark the end of Kyrgyzstan’s SCO chairship, with Pakistan taking over on 1 September. Modi is attending alongside Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Russian President Vladimir Putin. No separate India–Pakistan bilateral meeting has been announced. India has also pushed for stronger attention to terrorism within the SCO.
The focus will then shift to New Delhi for the 18th BRICS Summit on 12 and 13 September. This will be India’s fourth BRICS chairship, following its earlier terms in 2012, 2016 and 2021. The summit is expected to address local-currency settlements, resilient supply chains, food and energy security, and reform of global institutions. The main challenge will be finding common ground among the grouping’s 11 members, whose positions remain divided on major geopolitical issues. Putin has confirmed his attendance, while Xi is expected to be present.
Mumbai will host the seventh Global Fintech Fest from 8 to 11 September at the Jio World Centre. Its theme is “Potential to Impact: Trusted, Connected, Global Systems for Inclusive Finance”, with discussions on agentic AI, tokenisation and quantum technologies. The event is organised by the Payments Council of India, NPCI and the Fintech Convergence Council of IAMAI. Modi is expected to inaugurate it.
SEMICON India will follow from 17 to 19 September at Yashobhoomi in New Delhi. Held under the theme “Silicon to Systems: Building the Ecosystem”, it is expected to draw more than 500 exhibitors from over 40 countries. Three of the 12 semiconductor projects approved in the first phase are already in commercial production, while the Cabinet has cleared a second phase.
Exercise Tarang Shakti, the Indian Air Force’s multinational air exercise, will be held at Jodhpur from 26 September to 12 October. India has invited 51 countries, with participating nations expected to include the United States, Australia, France, Greece, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the UAE. Others will participate as observers. The exercise will also showcase Indian defence platforms and support India’s push for defence manufacturing and exports.
The month will end in New York with the 81st session of the UN General Assembly. The session opens on 8 September, with the high-level General Debate scheduled from 22 to 26 September and on 28 September. Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman will serve as President. As India campaigns for a non-permanent Security Council seat for 2028–29, Modi is provisionally scheduled to address the General Debate on 25 September. The selection process for António Guterres’s successor is already under way, with his term ending on 31 December.
