Mohammad Reza Dashti Ardakani, deputy minister for legal and parliamentary affairs at Iran’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance, said Iran’s participation in BRICS should go beyond membership in an international grouping and translate into concrete economic opportunities, including expanded trade, foreign investment, banking cooperation and new channels for financing economic projects.
“The key is to turn the existing potential into specific, operational and implementable forms of cooperation,” Dashti Ardakani said in an interview with Shada News.
He identified closer financial cooperation with BRICS members and the development of mechanisms less dependent on the conventional international financial system as important areas for expanding economic ties.
With unilateral U.S. sanctions raising the cost of cross-border payments and foreign trade, the use of local currencies, alternative financial mechanisms and closer cooperation among BRICS economies could help mitigate some of those constraints, he said.
Such arrangements, Dashti Ardakani added, could give Iranian businesses more options for conducting international trade and financial transactions while strengthening the economy’s resilience to external pressure.
Iran-India Trade Seen as Having Room to Grow
Dashti Ardakani said economic ties between Iran and India also offered considerable room for expansion. Bilateral trade stood at about $1.63 billion in the 2025-26 financial year, he said, adding that the figure could rise substantially given the two countries’ potential in energy, transit, transportation, ports and investment.
Realizing that potential, however, would require stronger economic cooperation as well as an appropriate legal and financial framework to facilitate the activities of private companies and investors, he said.
The Iranian official also highlighted the role of legal and judicial cooperation in underpinning sustainable economic relations.
Trade and investment can develop on a durable basis only when businesses have confidence in the enforceability of contracts, mechanisms for resolving disputes and the ability of counterparties to meet their obligations, Dashti Ardakani said.
Judicial diplomacy, working alongside economic diplomacy, could help remove legal barriers facing businesses and create a more predictable environment for long-term commercial cooperation between countries, he added.
Tourism Offers Additional Economic Potential
Beyond trade and investment, Iran should also make greater use of its tourism, cultural heritage and handicrafts sectors in developing relations with BRICS members, Dashti Ardakani said.
An increase in tourist flows from BRICS countries could not only deepen cultural exchanges but also generate additional foreign-exchange earnings and create jobs in Iran, he said.
More broadly, expanding economic cooperation with BRICS members could help Iran diversify its trading partners, strengthen economic resilience and reduce its exposure to external pressure, Dashti Ardakani said.
The opportunity would be more consequential, he added, if existing economic potential could be converted into higher trade volumes, greater investment and lower costs for businesses operating under sanctions.
Dashti Ardakani described the judiciary chief’s visit to India and participation in the BRICS Judicial Forum as a meaningful step toward that objective.
With sustained follow-up and the conversion of existing opportunities into enforceable agreements, Iran could create new openings for manufacturers, exporters and investors, ultimately supporting broader economic growth, he said.