Iran has ramped up its efforts to become a member of the BRICS group ahead of the economic bloc’s summit. The Iranian deputy foreign minister for economic diplomacy revealed that Iran is actively pursuing opportunities to strengthen its economic ties with BRICS members, noting that it has already established strong relationships with China, Russia, and India.
Iran Sees No Obstacles to Join BRICS
Mehdi Safari, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for economic diplomacy, said in an interview on Saturday that Iran’s membership in the BRICS economic group has faced no obstacles, Tasmin News Agency reported.
Noting that Iran has officially requested to join the BRICS bloc, Safari detailed:
We are making efforts so that the members of the economic group, including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, will accept Iran’s membership.
The Iranian foreign minister and the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) recently attended BRICS meetings. Safari further disclosed that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is expected to participate in the upcoming BRICS leaders’ summit either in person or through videoconference. The summit will take place from Aug. 22-24 in Johannesburg. South Africa is the host of the summit this year.
Safari emphasized that Iran has established strong relationships with key BRICS member states, namely China, Russia, and India. Moreover, Iran is actively pursuing opportunities to strengthen its economic ties with other BRICS members, he noted.
The BRICS has drawn interest from over 40 countries seeking to join the group. According to Anil Sooklal, South Africa’s diplomat in charge of BRICS relations, 22 nations have already formally applied. Moreover, he revealed last week that South Africa has invited 69 leaders to the summit, including all of the African heads of state and the leaders of major Global South bodies. However, no Western countries have been invited, he noted.
Iran’s President Raisi has been pushing for de-dollarization, stating earlier this month that it is key to a fair international system. In May, he asked the central bank of Iran to ditch the U.S. dollar in global trade and shift to using national currencies. Also in May, Iran hosted a meeting of nine Asian countries to discuss de-dollarization.
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