President Masoud Pezeshkian left Tehran for New Delhi on Friday to attend the 18th BRICS summit, saying the bloc has the capacity to counter unilateralism and expand economic, trade, industrial and scientific cooperation.
During the visit, the president will attend and address the main BRICS leaders' meeting, the BRICS economic forum, and a closed session of BRICS leaders on inclusive global governance and strengthening multilateralism. He will also hold meetings with the prime minister of India, the prime minister of Malaysia, the president of South Africa and other leaders and officials attending the summit.
Before departing, Pezeshkian described the summit as an important opportunity to expand cooperation among member states. He said BRICS currently has 21 members, comprising 11 full members and 10 new members known as "BRICS Plus."
BRICS members account for more than 45 percent of the world's population and about 35 percent of the world's territory, with significant capacity across various fields, he said.
"The main goal of BRICS is to counter unilateralism, and efforts are focused on enabling countries to develop their economic and trade relations while preserving their independence," Pezeshkian said. This year's summit slogan is based on solidarity, sustainability, resistance and innovation.
On finance, Pezeshkian noted the creation of the BRICS bank to facilitate joint investment and activities among members, and emphasised the importance of reducing dependence on the dollar in economic exchanges. "The effort is for countries to develop economically and regionally without dependence on the dollar, and to stand against unilateralism and the excessive demands of major powers," he said.
He said the presence of China, Russia, Brazil, India and other regional countries at the summit provides good capacity for developing bilateral and multilateral cooperation and consultations. He also noted Iran and India's long-standing relations, shared cultural heritage and considerable capacity to expand cooperation in cultural, economic and social fields.
Asked how effective BRICS can be against unilateralism, Pezeshkian said the bloc was founded for that purpose. He said the global economy is highly complex and that the dominance some powers have established over international relations in recent years requires new approaches. "Innovation and developing cooperation among member states can help strengthen BRICS and reduce unilateralism in the international system," he said.
MNA
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