Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in New Delhi on Friday to attend the BRICS summit and hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to advance two-way trade and strengthen overall ties.
This is Pezeshkian's first visit to India as the Islamic Republic's president.
The visit assumes significance as it comes amid a sudden spike in overall tensions in West Asia following the US slapping new punitive economic measures against Iran.
The Iranian president is slated to meet PM Modi for bilateral talks this evening. Before leaving for New Delhi, Pezeshkian underlined the need for BRICS to focus on boosting its economic resilience.
"The new BRICS bank was created to free countries from reliance on the dollar and to stand against America's push for dominance," he said.
The two-day BRICS summit hosted by India starting Saturday is expected to focus on boosting collective resilience in food, energy, health, disaster reduction, and critical supply chains with New Delhi positioning the bloc as an effective anchor to navigate a fragmented geopolitical environment.
The summit in New Delhi is taking place against the backdrop of a global economy facing the adverse impacts of the Russia-Ukraine war, the West Asia crisis, especially the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, and the Trump administration's trade and tariff policies.