BRICS Summit: Iran and UAE Reach Consensus in New Delhi Declaration

India has secured a much-anticipated consensus between Iran and the United Arab Emirates at the BRICS summit, clearing the way for the joint declaration adopted on Saturday. The agreement came after days of intensive negotiations, as the six-month-old war in West Asia escalated with the United States and Iran exchanging strikes.

On the margins of the summit, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

In paragraph 28 of the declaration, BRICS leaders expressed deep concern over the continued escalation of tensions in the Middle East and West Asia. Recalling their respective national positions, they called for maximum restraint and for avoiding actions that could further aggravate the situation.

The text balanced the sensitivities of both sides. It urged the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure in line with the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, including respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states. It also encouraged greater efforts through dialogue and diplomacy towards a long-term understanding that would contribute to lasting peace, security and stability in the region, and stressed the need to work together to maintain the smooth flow of global trade, supply chains and energy in accordance with applicable international law.

The wording on the West Asia war had divided Iran and the UAE over the past six months. As recently as May, BRICS foreign ministers meeting in New Delhi failed to reach consensus on the paragraph. At that time, India issued a chair statement and an outcome document noting "differing views among some members" on the West Asia situation and recording their "respective national positions." The final declaration carries a far more expansive paragraph.

Sudhakar Dalela, Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs and India's BRICS Sherpa, described the adoption of the New Delhi Declaration as one of the defining outcomes of India's chairship, demonstrating that BRICS members can forge consensus on matters of global importance.

The breakthrough followed hectic negotiations in the final days of the summit. With the war flaring up after the exchange of strikes between the US and Iran, Sherpas from the grouping's 11 member countries worked late to finalise the joint declaration. Indian officials worked to bridge the gap between the two sides, both of which joined BRICS in 2024.

The episode echoes the G20 summit of September 2023, when a paragraph on the Russia-Ukraine war was agreed by consensus after protracted back-and-forth. Since the war began on February 28, when the US and Israel attacked Iran, Tehran has targeted US bases in the Gulf region, including in the UAE, leaving the two countries at loggerheads. In May, during the BRICS foreign ministers' meeting in New Delhi, Russia's Sergey Lavrov urged the UAE and Iranian ministers to hold direct talks, but India was then unable to bridge the diplomatic gap and no joint statement followed the two-day meeting.