NEW DELHI: Chinese President Xi Jinping skipped a gala dinner hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday for the leaders of the BRICS nations, other countries participating in the BRICS Summit and international organisations, sources aware of the matter said.
Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, who left for home after attending the BRICS Summit was also a notable absentee at the high dinner table.
The reason for the absence of the Chinese president is not immediately known but a source suggested that Xi had gone back to his hotel to take rest.
The Chinese president arrived in New Delhi on Saturday afternoon and attended the BRICS Summit, besides having a bilateral meeting with Modi.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and other leaders of the BRICS attended the dinner. Union ministers and the chief ministers of several states were also present on the occasion.
The Union ministers who attended the dinner included Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Ashwini Vaishnaw and Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, chief ministers like Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh), Devendra Fadnavis (Maharashtra), Suvendu Adhikari (West Bengal) and Himanta Biswa Sarma (Assam) also attended the dinner.
The Union ministers and chief ministers travelled in two buses from the Parliament House to the venue of the dinner at Bharat Mandapam.
The menu of the dinner included khandvi mille-feuille, khumb galouti, paneer lababdar, gucchi marmik, carrot-bean poriyal and millet pulao.
The dessert menu included Old Delhi fruit cream with jalebi and shahtoot phirni.
India is hosting the BRICS Summit on September 12-13 and it is being attended by the leaders of the 11 member countries and 10 partner countries, besides some international organisations.