Iran’s Araghchi unlikely at BRICS foreign ministers’ meet next week in Delhi, his deputy to attend

India is hosting the BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting on May 14–15, 2026, in New Delhi, under its 2026 BRICS chairmanship theme "Building for Resilience, Inn...

What Happened

India is hosting the BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting on May 14–15, 2026, in New Delhi, under its 2026 BRICS chairmanship theme "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability."
Of the eleven member states, six are expected to be represented at Foreign Minister level: Brazil, Russia, Indonesia, South Africa, Egypt, and Ethiopia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's attendance has been confirmed.
The remaining five members will send deputy foreign ministers or senior officials: China (Deputy FM, coinciding with President Trump's Beijing visit), Iran (Deputy FM Kazem Gharibabadi, as the Foreign Minister is preoccupied with the ongoing West Asia situation), Saudi Arabia (senior official), and UAE (Reem Al-Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation).
Discussions are expected to cover: de-dollarisation and local-currency trade, digital public infrastructure (India's UPI and Aadhaar as models), water security, the West Asia/MENA situation, and New Development Bank initiatives.
West Asia tensions — stemming from renewed Iran-US conflict since late February 2026 with a fragile ceasefire now in place — are expected to dominate proceedings, testing the bloc's consensus-building capacity given tensions between Iran and UAE within the grouping.
BRICS has not yet issued a joint statement on the Iran-US conflict, reflecting internal divisions between Tehran and Abu Dhabi.
The ministerial meeting is designed to lay the diplomatic groundwork for the 18th BRICS Summit, scheduled for September 12–13, 2026, in New Delhi.

Static Topic Bridges

BRICS: Origins, Expansion, and Current Membership

BRICS began as a Goldman Sachs economist's acronym (Jim O'Neill, 2001) identifying Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa as high-growth emerging economies. It evolved from a conceptual grouping into a formal intergovernmental organisation holding annual summits from 2009. The bloc underwent its most significant expansion on January 1, 2024, when Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and UAE joined as full members. Indonesia joined in January 2025, bringing total membership to eleven.

Original members (BRICS-5): Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa.
2024 expansion (BRICS+): Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE.
2025 addition: Indonesia.
Total current members (2026): 11 (note: Saudi Arabia has engaged cautiously and its participation level varies by meeting).
BRICS collectively represents ~40% of global GDP (PPP), ~46% of global population, and over 25% of global trade.
India has held the BRICS chairmanship four times: 2012, 2016, 2021, and now 2026.

Connection to this news: Understanding the expanded membership is essential to analysing why the Delhi FM meeting faces complex consensus challenges — particularly on West Asia, where Iran and UAE (both now full members) are on opposing sides of an active conflict.

New Development Bank (NDB)

The New Development Bank, popularly called the "BRICS Bank," was established by the 2014 Fortaleza Declaration and became operational in 2016. It is headquartered in Shanghai and was created to mobilise resources for infrastructure and sustainable development in BRICS and other emerging economies, as an alternative to Western-dominated Bretton Woods institutions (World Bank, IMF).

Headquarters: Shanghai, China.
Authorised capital: US $100 billion.
First President: K.V. Kamath (India); current President: Dilma Rousseff (Brazil).
Expanded membership (2026): The NDB has grown beyond BRICS nations; recent additions include Colombia and Uzbekistan, bringing NDB membership to 11+ countries.
The NDB promotes local-currency financing to reduce exposure to US dollar volatility — directly aligned with the de-dollarisation agenda at this FM meeting.

Connection to this news: De-dollarisation and NDB expansion are expected agenda items at the Delhi meeting. Prelims frequently tests NDB facts (HQ, capital, India's role); Mains tests its strategic significance vs. Bretton Woods institutions.

De-dollarisation and the BRICS Currency Debate

De-dollarisation refers to efforts by countries to reduce reliance on the US dollar in international trade, reserves, and financial transactions. BRICS nations have long discussed this — from bilateral local-currency settlement agreements to proposals for a common BRICS currency or payment platform. Practically, progress has been made through bilateral arrangements (India-Russia rupee-rouble trade, China's yuan invoicing) rather than a unified BRICS currency, which remains aspirational.

Over 90% of global oil trade and ~60% of global foreign exchange reserves are denominated in US dollars (pre-2024 estimates).
Russia's exclusion from SWIFT (2022, following the Ukraine invasion) accelerated BRICS interest in alternative payment infrastructure.
India has been cautious about a mandatory BRICS currency, preferring voluntary local-currency arrangements that protect the rupee's flexibility.
UPI (Unified Payments Interface) is being showcased by India as a scalable digital payment model that could facilitate BRICS interoperability.

Connection to this news: The agenda for the Delhi FM meeting explicitly includes de-dollarisation and digital public infrastructure — two items where India's domestic achievements (UPI, Aadhaar) translate into foreign policy leverage within BRICS.

India's BRICS Chairmanship 2026: Strategic Context

India assumes the BRICS chair at a moment of significant global realignment: US-China rivalry, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, West Asia instability, and the reorganisation of global supply chains. India's chairmanship theme — resilience, innovation, cooperation, sustainability — is deliberately broad, allowing India to shape an agenda that advances its own positions (multipolarity, reformed multilateralism, development financing) without being drawn into bloc politics that conflict with its strategic autonomy.

India's BRICS chairmanship runs through December 2026, culminating in the September Summit.
India is simultaneously hosting a Quad Foreign Ministers' meeting in May 2026 (back-to-back with BRICS), underlining its multi-alignment posture.
India's position: BRICS should not become an "anti-West" bloc; it should focus on development, reformed multilateralism, and the Global South.
India chairs a grouping that now includes both Russia (under Western sanctions) and Iran (in conflict with the US) — a test of strategic autonomy.

Connection to this news: The back-to-back BRICS and Quad FM meetings in New Delhi in May 2026 are a textbook illustration of India's multi-alignment strategy — a recurring Mains theme in GS Paper 2.

West Asia Situation and BRICS Consensus Challenges

Since late February 2026, Iran and the United States have been engaged in open conflict, with a fragile ceasefire brokered through Islamabad. The conflict has strained UAE-Iran relations — both are now BRICS members — as the UAE has faced consequences of Iranian retaliation in the region. BRICS, which operates by consensus, has been unable to issue a joint statement on the conflict.

The Iran-US conflict follows a long arc of tensions over Iran's nuclear programme, sanctions, and regional proxy conflicts.
UAE-Iran disputes include competing claims in the Persian Gulf and the three islands (Abu Musa, Greater and Lesser Tunb) occupied by Iran since 1971.
Saudi Arabia's participation in BRICS remains ambiguous — it has engaged selectively despite being invited to join in 2023.
The "MENA situation" on the BRICS agenda signals awareness of the challenge without a predetermined consensus position.

Connection to this news: Iran's FM absence and the Iran-UAE tension within the same bloc exemplify why BRICS consensus on geopolitical issues is harder than on economic cooperation — a nuance relevant to Mains analysis of multilateral organisations.

Key Facts & Data

Meeting: BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting, New Delhi, May 14–15, 2026
India's chairmanship theme: "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability"
BRICS current membership: 11 countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Indonesia)
India's previous BRICS chairmanships: 2012, 2016, 2021, 2026
FM-level representation confirmed: Brazil, Russia, Indonesia, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia (6 of 11)
Russia FM: Sergey Lavrov (confirmed attendance)
Iran representation: Deputy FM Kazem Gharibabadi (FM Araghchi absent)
China representation: Deputy Foreign Minister (FM-level meeting conflicting with Trump-Xi Beijing visit)
UAE representation: Reem Al-Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation
18th BRICS Summit: September 12–13, 2026, New Delhi
New Development Bank HQ: Shanghai, China; authorised capital US $100 billion
NDB membership (2026): 11+ countries including Colombia and Uzbekistan (recent additions)
Key agenda items: De-dollarisation, local-currency trade, digital public infrastructure (UPI/Aadhaar), water security, West Asia/MENA situation, NDB expansion
BRICS share of global population: ~46%; global GDP (PPP): ~40%