‘Working on Iran’s NDB membership’: Araghchi reveals Brics bank push, calls Modi-Pezeshkian meet ‘strong’
At the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, Iran's foreign ministry confirmed it is actively working toward membership of the New Development Bank (NDB), the BRICS-founded multilateral lender, and said some member countries have expressed support for the move.
Iran's bilateral meeting between its president and the Indian Prime Minister on the summit sidelines was described as a "strong" engagement, alongside continued references to cooperation within the BRICS grouping.
The summit's broader discussions included expanding the use of national and local currencies for trade settlement among BRICS members, reducing reliance on the US dollar for intra-bloc commerce.
Iran has been a full BRICS member since January 2024 but is not yet an NDB member — BRICS membership and NDB membership are governed by separate, distinct accession processes.
BRICS — Composition, Expansion and 2024 Enlargement
BRICS began as "BRIC" (Brazil, Russia, India, China), an informal grouping first conceptualised in a 2001 Goldman Sachs paper, with the first standalone BRIC summit held in 2009 (Yekaterinburg, Russia). South Africa joined in 2010, making it "BRICS." At the 15th BRICS Summit (Johannesburg, 2023), the bloc approved its first major expansion, admitting Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE effective January 1, 2024 (Saudi Arabia's accession remains under consideration/not formally activated by Riyadh). Indonesia joined as a full member in January 2025, and several other states (including Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Nigeria) hold "BRICS partner country" status rather than full membership.
Iran's full BRICS membership since January 2024 is the political foundation for its NDB membership push, but the news event itself demonstrates that the two memberships are not automatically linked — a distinction UPSC frequently tests through such institutional-overlap questions.
New Development Bank (NDB) — Origin, Structure and Membership Rules
The NDB was established by the founding BRICS members (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) through the Agreement on the New Development Bank signed at the 6th BRICS Summit in Fortaleza, Brazil (July 2014), and became operational in 2015. It is headquartered in Shanghai, with a regional office in Johannesburg (Africa Regional Centre) and additional presence in São Paulo and Gujarat (IFSC, GIFT City). Its mandate is to mobilise resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging/developing economies, positioned as an alternative to the World Bank and IMF.
Iran's BRICS membership since 2024 gives it standing to seek NDB entry, but its application must go through a distinct Board of Governors approval process — exactly the "consultation" process its foreign ministry says is underway, and exactly why Iran, despite two years of BRICS membership, is still only "working on" NDB entry.
De-dollarisation and Local Currency Trade Settlement in BRICS
BRICS summits since 2023 (Johannesburg) and 2024 (Kazan) have progressively discussed reducing dependency on the US dollar for intra-BRICS trade, favouring settlement in national currencies (e.g., rupee-rouble, yuan-based mechanisms) and exploring a BRICS Cross-Border Payments Initiative. This is a policy/institutional trend distinct from a common BRICS currency, which has been explicitly ruled out by member states including India.
Key Details
- BRICS Cross-Border Payments Initiative (BCBPI) discussed since the 2023 Johannesburg Summit
- India has publicly clarified it does not support a single BRICS currency, only expanded local-currency trade settlement
- Local currency settlement mechanisms are relevant to India's rupee trade arrangements with sanctioned economies such as Iran and Russia
Local-currency settlement is directly relevant to Iran, which faces US sanctions restricting dollar-denominated trade; expanded NDB access and de-dollarised settlement mechanisms would give Tehran alternative channels for financing and trade with BRICS partners.
- Iran became a full BRICS member: January 1, 2024 (announced at the 2023 Johannesburg Summit)
- NDB founded: July 2014 (Fortaleza Declaration), headquartered in Shanghai
- NDB founding members: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa
- NDB current membership: 10 countries (5 founders + Bangladesh, UAE, Egypt, Algeria, Uzbekistan)
- NDB initial subscribed capital: US $50 billion (of $100 billion authorised)
- The 18th BRICS Summit was hosted by India in New Delhi in 2026