Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Mehdi Safari said his country attaches paramount importance to expanding economic cooperation with countries of the global south.

“The deepening and expansion of economic cooperation with our neighbors, regional countries, Asian states, and countries in the ‘Global South’ constitutes one of the main priorities of the economic diplomacy of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Safari said addressing ambassadors of BRICS countries at a press conference in Tehran.

The diplomat noted that multilateral and regional organisations such as Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), BRICS, Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and others occupy a crucial place in the republic’s economic diplomacy. He added that the Iranian side views these groups as a platform for forming new models of cooperation, such as South-South cooperation. This is reported by
IRNA, a partner of TV BRICS.

BRICS has undergone two waves of expansion since its founding in 2006. In 2011, South Africa joined the original line-up of Brazil, Russia, India and China, and in August 2023 invited six new members: Argentina, Egypt, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Argentina subsequently declined to join the group, while the five remaining countries became part of the alliance from 1 January 2024.

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