TEHRAN – Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrapped up his two-day trip to Johannesburg on Friday after attending the 9th BRICS parliamentary forum in the South African city. 

Upon arriving in Tehran, Ghalibaf took the time to speak to reporters at the Mehrabad International Airport.

The official hoped that Iran could make use of the immense capacities of the bloc. “The member countries of the bloc have significant economic and production capacities,” said the parliament speaker. 

He declared that more than 50 financial projects are currently underway which would benefit all members of BRICS including Iran. The group has already created a development bank with an initial $50 billion investment, according to the speaker. 

“In the political-economic dimension, action has been taken in a way that major economic powers stand against U.S. unilateralism together, and Iran is also considered an active member”. 

Regarding how Iran in particular can benefit from the group, Ghalibaf explained that BRICS has created a financial system similar to SWIFT which Tehran can join and make use of. The option along with other opportunities provided by the bloc can help neutralize U.S. sanctions against Iran. This is while countries that are part of BRICS can also benefit from Iran’s presence in the meantime. 

“In the meeting I had with my counterparts, they all admitted that Iran's presence in BRICS is of great importance to the members due to the country's geographical position, its power in knowledge-based industries, and other capacities it possesses,” Ghalibaf stressed. 

He also mentioned the shifting power dynamics in the world and called BRICS an entity which can play an important role in the new global order. That’s because the bloc can help prevent “unilateralism” and help provide “sustainable peace”.

Regarding his bilateral meetings with other officials, Ghalibaf said he was able to hold successful talks with world officials, including the parliament speaker of Egypt.  

“I also had bilateral meetings during this trip. One of the successful meetings of this trip was the meeting I had with the Speaker of the Egyptian Parliament. Egypt is an important country in the Arab world, the Islamic world, and North Africa, and it is an ancient country. There are many commonalities between Egypt and Iran,” explained the top Iranian lawmaker, announcing that he has received an invitation from his Egyptian counterpart to visit the Arab country. 

Ghalibaf also held meetings with the speaker of the Federal National Council of the UAE, and the parliament speaker of Nambia. 

The Islamic Republic of Iran was officially invited to join the BRICS bloc of emerging economies in August. Iran along with Saudi Arabia and four other nations will become full members of the bloc as of 2024.

Tehran also gained full membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in July.