New Delhi: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday urged BRICS countries to strengthen cooperation against unilateral sanctions and called for the establishment of a permanent secretariat to make the grouping more effective.
Addressing the BRICS summit in New Delhi, Pezeshkian said institutional reforms were needed to ensure that decisions taken by the bloc were implemented more efficiently.
“To enhance efficiency and accelerate the implementation of BRICS decisions, measures such as resisting unilateral sanctions, transforming competition into cooperation and establishing a permanent secretariat are necessary,” he said, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency.
Pezeshkian outlined three priority areas that Tehran believes BRICS should pursue.
He called for stronger political coordination based on the UN Charter and respect for national sovereignty, as well as greater economic and financial cooperation independent of what he described as “monopolistic instruments.”
The Iranian president also advocated expanded collaboration among BRICS countries in science, technology, energy and food security, arguing that such cooperation should contribute to the development of the Global South.
Pezeshkian also used his address to raise the Palestinian issue, describing the fulfilment of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination as “a serious test of the credibility and legitimacy of global governance.”
“Any just solution requires respect for the will of the Palestinian people,” he said.
Calling for a stronger response from the grouping, Pezeshkian added: “BRICS, as a voice of justice, must play a more active role in ending the occupation and guaranteeing their legitimate rights.”