Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in New Delhi on Friday to attend the 18th BRICS Summit, with a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled for later in the day.
Speaking ahead of his departure from Tehran, Pezeshkian said, "The goal of BRICS is to confront unilateralism, and the slogan of the current summit is also within this framework, and we hope to get closer to this goal day by day," ANI reported.
He added that economic issues remained complex and required new approaches to reduce "totalitarianism and unilateralism" in the world.
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According to Iran's ISNA news agency, Pezeshkian said before travelling to India that "independence, solidarity, sustainability, resistance, and innovation" were the themes of the summit, with economic, financial, industrial and trade issues on the agenda.
He also pointed to BRICS's New Development Bank, saying investment from member countries through the bank could reduce dependence on the dollar in transactions between nations, which he said would help curb what he called "America's totalitarianism with the dollar."
Pezeshkian, who had earlier met Modi on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Bishkek, said Iran and India shared a long-standing relationship with room to expand their common ground.
"Our presence at this summit is a good opportunity to meet and discuss with various officials, including those from China, Russia, Brazil, India, and other countries," he said.
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India is hosting the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12-13 under the theme "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability," with development, sustainability and innovation as key areas of focus during its Chairship.
The bloc currently comprises 11 members — Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the UAE — which together account for around 49.5% of the global population, 40% of global GDP and 26% of global trade, according to background information cited by ANI on India's 2026 Chairship.
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