Kamal Ghorui
External affairs minister S Jaishankar will host his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Friday for bilateral talks, hoping to address some of India’s concerns related to energy and connectivity. While the ministers have spoken on multiple occasions since the conflict in the West Asia region started on February 28, this will be their first in-person meeting since then. Araghchi is expected to land here Wednesday for the BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting, but his bilateral with Jaishankar is expected to be the main component of his visit as far as India is concerned. TOI had reported on May 10 that the Iranian foreign minister was likely to visit India for the BRICS meeting. Araghchi has been seeking a more pro-active role by the BRICS, especially India as the current Chair, in addressing issues related to the conflict. In the meeting, Jaishankar is expected to raise India’s concerns over disruption in energy supplies, including the stranded LPG tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, and also discuss issues related to the Chabahar port after the expiry of the US sanctions waiver for India’s operations. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Tuesday India remains in touch with both Iran and the US over the issue and that the conflict remains a complicating factor. Jaishankar is also expected to have a bilateral meeting with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday.The government also announced Tuesday that Jaishankar will chair the BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting on May 14-15. Amid an exchange of views on global and regional issues, India will look to bridge the gap between member-states over the conflict in the West Asia region, although consensus for a joint statement seems improbable at this stage. The ministers will also call on PM Narendra Modi on Thursday. The level of participation from the UAE, another country which is party to the conflict, is yet to be confirmed. China will be represented by ambassador Xu Feihong as foreign minister Wang Yi is preoccupied with the Trump-Xi summit this week.On the second day of the BRICS meeting, according to the Indian announcement, members and partner countries will participate in a session themed “BRICS@20: Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”. This will be followed by a session on the “Reforms of Global Governance and Multilateral System”. “The BRICS Foreign Ministers held their last meeting on the margins of the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 80) on 26 September 2025. The meeting was chaired by India in its capacity as the incoming BRICS Chair for 2026,” said the MEA in a statement.
