Rio de Janeiro External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar met Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Sunday on the sidelines of the 17th BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro. The two leaders held discussions primarily focused on recent regional developments, particularly ongoing tensions in West Asia.
“Glad to meet FM @araghchi of Iran this evening. Our conversation focused on recent regional developments,” Jaishankar posted on X, sharing a photograph of the meeting.
The talks assume significance amid heightened instability in the West Asian region, including the Iran-Israel conflict and recent U.S. strikes on Iranian targets. India has consistently advocated for de-escalation and emphasized the need to return to dialogue and diplomacy to restore peace and stability in the region.
Just weeks earlier, in late June, EAM Jaishankar had spoken with Araghchi to discuss the fallout of hostilities between Iran and Israel. During that conversation, he also expressed appreciation for Iran’s support in facilitating the evacuation of Indian nationals stranded in the country.
India and Iran share a civilizational relationship spanning millennia. Their contemporary partnership continues to be shaped by shared cultural ties, high-level engagements, trade, connectivity, and people-to-people relations.
Diplomatic ties between the two countries were formalized with the signing of a Friendship Treaty on March 15, 1950. Landmark moments in the bilateral relationship include the visit of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Iran in April 2001, during which the Tehran Declaration was signed, followed by the New Delhi Declaration during President Seyyed Mohammad Khatami’s visit to India in 2003.
Bilateral cooperation was further enhanced with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Iran in May 2016, which saw the signing of 12 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and the pivotal Trilateral Agreement on Trade, Transport and Transit between India, Iran, and Afghanistan.
In February 2018, then-President Hassan Rouhani visited India, resulting in the issuance of a joint statement titled “Towards Prosperity Through Greater Connectivity.”
More recently, Prime Minister Modi met newly elected Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, in October 2024 — their first interaction since President Pezeshkian assumed office in July 2024.
India was also represented at the condolence ceremony in Tehran following the tragic death of President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Dr. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and other senior officials. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar attended on behalf of the Indian government. (Source: IANS)
