Abdolnasser Hemmati said Iran is ready to expand its engagement with the New Development Bank and pursue membership through the cooperation and support of BRICS members at a meeting in Jaipur on Wednesday. The remarks came at the opening session of the BRICS finance ministers and central bank governors’ meeting, where Iran used the forum to press its financial agenda.
Hemmati said BRICS will have the greatest impact when it can turn policy dialogues into practical initiatives and operational mechanisms. He also said economic and financial stability cannot be achieved without peace, respect for international law and adherence to the principles of the UN Charter.
Jaipur BRICS meeting
Hemmati thanked the Indian government and Central Bank for hosting the gathering in Jaipur. He said Iran has maintained active participation in the BRICS framework since joining the group, and that Iran's Central Bank has contributed to specialized working groups on cross-border payments, the use of national currencies, financial technologies, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and sustainable finance.
That list points to the practical lane Iran is trying to widen inside BRICS: cheaper transactions, more room to settle trade in national currencies, and payment systems that sit closer to one another. Hemmati voiced support for initiatives that can reduce the cost and risks of transactions, facilitate the use of national currencies and bring payment infrastructures among member states closer together.
New Development Bank talks
Hemmati described the New Development Bank as one of BRICS' most important institutional achievements. On the sidelines of the meeting, Hemmati held talks with Dilma Rousseff, president of the New Development Bank, who described Iran's participation in the bank as important and highlighted Iran's role and potential in expanding regional and international cooperation.
The two sides stressed the need to continue expert-level consultations on Iran's membership in the New Development Bank and access to the bank's facilities. For Iran, that means the membership push has moved beyond general support and into a technical process that still depends on consultations rather than automatic entry.
Iran and the New Development Bank
The wider backdrop is hard to separate from the diplomatic pitch. Hemmati tied financial stability to peace and legal order while the source also places the discussion against US-Israeli military aggression against Iran's sovereignty and territorial integrity. In that setting, Iran's appeal to BRICS reads as a bid for more financial room inside a bloc where it is already active.
Will Iran move from consultations to formal approval inside the New Development Bank? The next step described by Hemmati and Rousseff is expert-level consultation on membership and access, and that is where the process now sits.
