Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE join BRICS meeting in South Africa as bloc mulls expansion

Iran, Saudi Arabia and UAE foreign ministers attend meeting BRICS meeting This week in South Africa, as the bloc seeks to expand its membership to counterbalance Western powers.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdulashian, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan attended the ministerial meeting. BRICS countries Bilateral meetings were held on Thursday and Friday.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iran are not part of the bloc, which currently consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Iran submitted an application to become an observer state last year.

Saudi Arabia is in discussions to join the New Development Bank, the BRICS lender, the Financial Times reported this week. Established in 2014, the bank is seen as a counterweight to the IMF and World Bank.

Prince Faisal held talks with South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandol, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar.

Sheikh Abdullah also met Jaishankar, Pandor and Lavrov. The UAE’s top diplomat also held bilateral talks with Iran’s foreign minister.

#capetown | HH the Prince, Minister of Foreign Affairs @FaisalbinFarhan Meeting with Dr. Grace Naledi Pandor, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa during the “Friends of BRICS” ministerial meeting 🇸🇦🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/JexJITSAf2

– Ministry of Foreign Affairs 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaFRA) June 1, 2023

On Friday, Pandol painted the group as champions of the global south.

“Cooperation in the world is faltering. The developed countries have never fulfilled their commitments to the developing countries and are trying to shift all responsibility to the global south,” Pandol said.

After leaving Tehran, Amir Abdurrashian hailed the BRICS as an institution representing half the world’s population and called his visit an example of Iran’s “active engagement in international institutions” and a “balanced” foreign policy step forward.

I will go to Cape Town, South Africa to attend the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.
The BRICS countries represent half of the world’s population and about one-fifth of the world economy.
Active participation in international forums is one of the steps taken by the government to balance foreign policy principles.

— H. Amirabdollahian (@Amirabdolahian) May 31, 2023

Amir-Abdollahian said in a pre-recorded interview broadcast on national television after his departure that a key topic on his agenda in Cape Town was “thede-dollarization” In trade with the BRICS countries.

Iranian officials have insisted on pursuing that goal in recent talks with friendly nations.

The country’s deputy foreign minister for economic affairs, Mehdi Safari, announced last month that the Islamic Republic had proposed to the BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organization members to designate a non-dollar currency Because their trade relationship “offsets the effects of unilateral sanctions”.

International punitive measures combined with endemic corruption at home have pushed Iran’s economy to the brink of collapse. The value of the Iranian currency has fallen to record lows as inflation soars to well above 50%, leaving a growing portion of Iran’s middle class living below the official poverty line.