Iran's Deputy FM Calls for Proactive Strategy in BRICS, SCO to Unlock Membership Benefits

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi on Monday called for a clear and proactive strategy to take full advantage of the country’s memberships in the BRICS group and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), stressing that waiting for initiatives from their secretariats would limit Iran’s potential gains.

Speaking at the first meeting of the “Headquarters for Coordination of SCO and BRICS Affairs,” Gharibabadi said every government body should define specific goals and projects to pursue within the two organizations, IRNA reported.

“We should not wait to see what events or meetings are announced by the secretariats. Instead, an annual plan should be drawn up from the beginning of each year,” he said, urging ministries to prepare such plans for the remaining five months of the current Iranian year.

He underlined that Iran faces unilateralism and “unjust, illegal sanctions,” and that leveraging multilateral institutions like BRICS and the SCO could help counter such pressures.

“What can help us demonstrate that the world is no longer under the dominance of a few countries and that there are abundant opportunities elsewhere is precisely the effective use of these organizations’ capacities,” he added.

Iran officially became a full member of BRICS on January 1, 2024. The bloc includes five major emerging economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The country also joined the SCO as a full member in September 2022 during the organization’s summit hosted by Uzbekistan. - Iran Daily