India hosts BRICS security talks as Doval meets Iranian and Ethiopian officials
India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval has held separate meetings in New Delhi with senior security officials from Iran and Ethiopia ahead of the BRICS national security advisers' gathering. The talks come as India prepares to host the bloc's leaders later this year and as BRICS members exchange views on shared security concerns. The meetings also took place against the backdrop of ongoing US-Iran talks in Switzerland over the conflict in West Asia.
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Doval met Ghadir Nezamipour, Iran's deputy national security adviser and deputy secretary for defence affairs at the Supreme National Security Council. According to an official statement, both sides reviewed the situation in West Asia and discussed cooperation through the BRICS platform as well as India-Iran bilateral ties. Nezamipour is in New Delhi to attend the BRICS meeting of national security advisers, which is due to take place on Tuesday.
Doval also met Million Lema Tadesse, the executive director of analysis at Ethiopia's National Intelligence and Security Service. The two sides explored ways to deepen the India-Ethiopia strategic partnership, according to the official account. The meetings underline how India is using the BRICS security track to engage partners on both regional instability and broader strategic cooperation.
The timing is significant because India holds the rotating BRICS presidency this year and is set to host the bloc's summit in September. The national security advisers' meeting is expected to help shape that summit by focusing on what the bloc describes as non-traditional security challenges, including the role of new technologies in emerging threats. BRICS members are also due to review the work of joint groups on counter-terrorism and on security in the use of information and communication technologies.
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The Iranian visit is notable because it is the first by a senior Iranian official to India after Tehran reached a peace agreement with the United States, according to the supplied material. It also follows a visit last month by Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi for the BRICS foreign ministers' meeting, showing a continuing diplomatic track between New Delhi and Tehran within the bloc's framework. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian National Security Adviser Sergei Shoigu are also expected to attend the security meeting.
What remains unclear is how far the BRICS discussions will move beyond broad consultations into concrete coordination on West Asia or other security issues. The immediate focus will be the national security advisers' meeting and the positions taken by member states on counter-terrorism, technology-related threats and regional instability. The outcome may also offer an early indication of the agenda for the September leaders' summit in India.
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