BRICS Summit 2026: Iran President Pezeshkian Arrives in Delhi, Says ‘We Will Counter Unilateralism’

New Delhi: Iranian President Masoud Pejeshkian reached New Delhi on Friday to participate in the 18th BRICS summit. His presence in the conference chaired by India on September 12 and 13 is taking place at a time when tensions in West Asia and changing political equations at the global level are at the center of discussion. A bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also proposed during Pejeshkian's visit.

What did Pejeshkian say about BRICS?

Before leaving for Delhi, Pejeshkian talked about the role of BRICS. He described the group as an important platform to counter unilateral policies in the international system. According to him, through BRICS, efforts are being made to increase cooperation among the member countries and create balance at the global level.

Why is there emphasis on reducing dollar dependence?

The Iranian President also raised the issue of economic and financial cooperation of BRICS. He stressed the need to increase mutual investment and transactions between member countries so that dependence on the US dollar for trade can be reduced.

However, India's stand on this issue is somewhat different from Iran. India is working towards linking central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) to ease cross-border payments between BRICS countries but is not in favour of any common arrangement that could be seen as an outright anti-dollar or anti-West move.

What issues will be discussed between India and Iran?

Pejeshkian's visit is also considered important from the point of view of India-Iran relations. Issues like trade, Chabahar port and regional connectivity have already been important between the two countries. Iran has also shown interest in talks with India on trade and Chabahar during the BRICS meeting.

Prime Minister Modi and Pezeshkian had earlier met on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Bishkek on August 31. In that meeting, both the leaders discussed bilateral relations, the situation in West Asia and regional peace. Modi had reiterated India's stand on solving problems through dialogue and diplomacy.

Which leaders are reaching the BRICS conference?

Many prominent leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will attend the conference to be held in New Delhi. Following the expansion of BRICS, the group now has 11 full members, which include India, China, Russia, Brazil and South Africa, besides Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

What is the biggest challenge facing BRICS this time?

During this conference, along with economic cooperation, issues like global trade, payment system, supply chain and the role of the Global South will also be important. The discussion of reducing dollar dependence within BRICS is old, but due to different economic and political interests of the member countries, it is not easy to form a solid consensus in this direction. India is also adopting a pragmatic stance on this issue and emphasizing on ease of trade and payments.