Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and United Arab Emirates Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met in New Delhi on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, marking the highest-level diplomatic engagement between the two nations since the outbreak of the regional conflict, according to the Abu Dhabi media office.
High-Level Diplomacy on the Sidelines in New Delhi
The bilateral meeting took place during the 18th BRICS summit hosted by India. The Iranian embassy in India shared a photograph of the meeting on X, though neither side released detailed transcripts of the closed-door discussions.
A Joint Declaration and Calls for Restraint
Hours prior to the bilateral talks, both Iran and the UAE joined other member states of the BRICS bloc to sign a joint declaration addressing the ongoing Middle East war. According to the text published by Reuters and Al Jazeera, the declaration expressed deep concern over escalating tensions and called for maximum restraint.
“We express deep concern over the continued escalation of tensions in Middle East/West Asia … call for exercising maximum restraint, as well as avoiding actions that could further aggravate the situation,” the joint BRICS declaration stated. The text also emphasized the protection of civilians, respect for state sovereignty, and the preservation of global trade, supply chains, energy flows, and maritime security.
Testing Consensus Within an Expanded Bloc
The diplomatic breakthrough at the summit offered a test of the expanding bloc’s ability to forge consensus among nations with divergent regional interests. Originally formed in 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, the group expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the UAE. Foreign policy experts cited by Reuters noted that finding language acceptable to both Abu Dhabi and Tehran represented a primary hurdle for the summit’s host nation.
Navigating Divergent Regional Interests
Sunjay Sudhir, a former Indian ambassador to the UAE, told Reuters that the gathering demonstrated how regional competitors can utilize diplomatic channels. “What India has done is keep the difficult conversations going, by showing that countries of the region can sit at the same table, engage diplomatically, and build on where their interests converge,” Sudhir said, adding that resolving the core conflict remains tied to actions by the United States and Israel.
Global Leaders Urge Concrete Results
During the opening sessions, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that the bloc had come of age and needed to translate consensus into concrete international results. Chinese President Xi Jinping also addressed the summit, stating that Beijing was ready to play its “due role” in achieving regional stability and urging a commitment to political settlements.
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