BRICS is already effectively dealing with important energy issues and is able to play a key role in aerospace and the development of new technologies, expanding its presence to the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Mahdi Safari told Sputnik.
"The most important problem is represented by three issues: the first is energy production, the second is energy transportation, and the third is energy consumption. I can say that these three issues are being resolved by BRICS," Safari said, adding that thanks to the membership of India, Russia and Iran, the group could also play an important role in such areas as new technologies, aerospace, transit corridors and global trade.
In addition, BRICS can contribute to the international presence in the waters of the Persian Gulf, Oman Gulf and Indian Ocean, he added.
"Iran's accession to BRICS will provide this organization with enormous opportunities. One of them is transit, the second is energy, be it oil or gas, the third is new technologies and the knowledge-intensive sector," the diplomat said.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and BRICS are the world's largest producers and consumers of oil and gas, Safari noted in his interview with Sputnik, adding that BRICS is an oil and gas market half the size of the world, while the SCO is a major regional market, which itself can have a great impact.
In August 2023, the 15th top-level BRICS summit in Johannesburg extended invitations to Iran, as well as Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to join the bloc. Their full membership took effect on January 1, 2024, except for Argentina, which abandoned its plans to join the group under the new president, Javier Milei.