Economic diplomacy:
a door that remains open
By Asgar Ghahramanpour
Editor-in-chief
In international politics, even under the most difficult and complex circumstances, the door to diplomacy is never completely closed. Relations among states do not move solely along the axis of confrontation and conflict. Alongside geopolitical rivalries, there are always avenues for dialogue, cooperation, negotiation, and the pursuit of shared interests. This is precisely where the art of foreign policy lies: identifying opportunities to turn constraints and disagreements into avenues for cooperation and the advancement of national interests.
From this perspective, Iran’s participation in the 2026 BRICS summit in New Delhi should not be viewed merely as a political or ceremonial exercise. BRICS has emerged as one of the most important platforms for an expanding form of multilateralism in the international system. Its members include major economic and political powers, creating significant potential for trade, investment, financing, and economic cooperation. For Iran, BRICS can also provide an opportunity to expand economic relations and reduce vulnerability to external pressures—provided that membership goes beyond political statements and is translated into a practical and sustained strategy.
The government of President Masoud Pezeshkian should recognize that the significance of BRICS for Iran lies less in membership itself than in the opportunities that membership can create. Iran’s economy needs new markets, foreign investment, access to technology, alternative trade routes, and more diverse financial mechanisms. BRICS can be one avenue toward achieving these objectives. But realizing its potential requires active, professional, and strategically focused economic diplomacy.
Iran possesses considerable economic advantages: a strategically important geographic location, vast energy resources, a large domestic market, substantial industrial and agricultural capacity, and a position at the crossroads of Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Persian Gulf, and the Indian subcontinent. The central question is why so much of this potential has yet to be translated into economic power and tangible opportunities for the Iranian people. Part of the answer lies in the weak connection between foreign policy and economic strategy.
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