Iran`s Pezeshkian meets PM Modi, thanks India for ‘valuable efforts’ to strengthen BRICS

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday thanked India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for hosting the BRICS Summit in New Delhi and making "valuable efforts" to strengthen cooperation among member countries. Pezeshkian was addressing the BRICS Business Forum ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit, where he shared the stage with leaders including Prime Minister Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"I would like to sincerely thank the friendly government and people of India for graciously hosting this meeting, as well as the Honourable Prime Minister of India for his valuable efforts to strengthen BRICS cooperation," Pezeshkian said.

He said it was a matter of satisfaction to be among representatives of the private sector, businesses and entrepreneurs who could turn BRICS' plans for cooperation into tangible economic outcomes. "It is a source of great satisfaction for me to be present today among representatives of the private sector, business enterprises, and entrepreneurs who can transform the idea of cooperation within BRICS into tangible economic realities," he added.

Pezeshkian also drew attention to the ongoing conflict in West Asia and its human and economic consequences, arguing that economic security cannot be separated from national and regional security. "Economic security is inseparable from national and regional security, and whenever a country's trade, energy, infrastructure, or financial system is under political-military pressure, its effects will go beyond that country's borders," he was quoted as saying by Iran's Mehr news agency.

He said disruptions to supply chains and the growing use of economic measures as a means of political pressure had made the global economic environment more complicated. "The question is, what is the BRICS response to these problems?" Pezeshkian asked.

According to Pezeshkian, the real strength of BRICS lies not only in the combined economic size of its members but in their ability to turn that potential into practical cooperation in trade, investment and financing. He said Iran believed economic resilience required countries to diversify their trade partners, sources of finance and payment channels.

Pezeshkian referred to the sanctions faced by Iran and said the pressure had intensified in recent months following what he described as "military aggression of the United States and the Israeli regime against the Islamic Republic of Iran".

"This aggression, in addition to the human and material losses, has once again revealed an important reality: economic security is inseparable from national and regional security," he said. He added that pressure on a country's trade, energy, infrastructure or financial system could have consequences beyond its borders, affecting regional stability and the global economy.

Pezeshkian called on BRICS countries to create mechanisms that would protect legitimate trade from disruptions caused by monopolies over financial instruments or technology. "To increase intra-BRICS trade, we must move from fragmented cooperation to gradual integration of trade infrastructures," he said.

He proposed measures including the digitisation of trade, integration of customs processes, reducing regulatory and administrative barriers, developing markets and encouraging joint investment by the private sector. Iran also proposed the creation of a BRICS joint reinsurance company with an initial capital of $10 billion to cover risks linked to major infrastructure and energy projects.

"Another specific proposal from the Islamic Republic of Iran is to establish a BRICS joint reinsurance company with an initial capital of $10 billion to cover the risk of large infrastructure and energy projects and increase confidence in the private sector," Pezeshkian said.