BRICS security meet to test post-conflict consensus on Iran

New Delhi: Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, Russian Security Council secretary Sergei Shoigu and Iran's national security adviser Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr will be among the key participants at the Brics national security advisers' meeting in New Delhi on June 23.

The gathering will be Tehran's first major international engagement since the US-Iran peace deal aimed at ending the conflict.

The meeting will be the first Brics security gathering since the US-Iran agreement and the reported understanding between the UAE and Iran to end hostilities. The developments could help members reach a consensus ahead of the Brics Summit on September 12-13 in New Delhi under India's presidency. Previous Brics meetings held since the outbreak of the West Asia conflict failed to produce joint statements because of differences between Iran and the UAE.


The meeting will focus on measures to counter cross-border terrorism and other transnational security challenges, ET has learnt. The presence of Iran's national security adviser is expected to give India an opportunity to better understand the details of the peace agreement and its implications for India-Iran economic ties.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Thursday that the meeting would also discuss joint responses to traditional and non-traditional security challenges and prepare for the Brics Summit.

"Amid a transforming and volatile world with many security challenges on the rise, Brics countries standing at the forefront of the Global South are committed to safeguarding world peace, promoting common development, practising multilateralism and enabling more equitable global governance," Lin said. Wang is expected to hold bilateral talks with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval during his visit, according to officials. Both serve as special representatives on the boundary question.

Wang's visit will be followed by Doval's trip to Beijing, possibly ahead of President Xi Jinping's visit to India for the Brics Summit.

Doval is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with Shoigu and his counterparts from other Brics member states.