Araghchi at BRICS: World must transition from 'Crisis Management' to 'Opportunity Management'
Tehran - BORNA - Seyed Abbas Araghchi, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, delivered a speech at the BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting titled "Setting the Stage for Resilience, Innovation, Collaboration, and Sustainability" in New Delhi.
The text of the speech is as follows:
Today, we stand at a point in history where the world is positioned between two paths: the continuation of worn-out and ineffective structures, or a transition toward a new reality defined by justice and balance. Today, innovation is not just a slogan; it is considered a strategic necessity. We are searching for a way to move from transitory crises toward enduring structures.
Today’s world needs to transition from "managing crises" to "managing opportunities." To maintain our position in today’s fast-paced world, we must not be merely reactive; rather, we must be the ones setting the stage for positive changes. This path includes four main pillars: innovation, resilience, collaboration, and sustainability.
In today's world, innovation is not limited only to technological advancements, but must also flow into methods of governance and development models. Within BRICS, we must seek to fill digital and technological gaps; our navigation must be such that access to knowledge and technology transforms from an exclusive privilege into a public tool for universal growth. We require innovation in financial structures and knowledge-exchange systems to transcend the monopoly of traditional powers.
Innovation in BRICS should not be summarized only within laboratories, but must also flow into policy-making. We must create a platform where the exchange of technology, knowledge, and human capital among member countries occurs without obstacles. The goal is to create a shared innovation ecosystem; a place where startups and research centers of member countries, instead of destructive competition, cooperate with one another in a synergistic network to solve global challenges such as food and energy security.
Today’s world is facing successive shocks in the economic, environmental, and security sectors. Current systems have been very fragile against these shocks.
Wars are one of these shocks. The aggressive wars of the United States and the Zionist regime against the Islamic Republic of Iran, Lebanon, Gaza, and other regions of the world have inflicted irreparable damage on vital infrastructure.
Therefore, our path of sustainability must focus on strengthening national and regional resilience. BRICS member countries must secure their supply chains, diversify their monetary systems, and build strong economic defense structures against unilateral pressures so that, in the face of crises, they are not worn down but rebuilt.
In today’s high-risk world, resilience is not a choice, but a definite necessity. We must build infrastructure that is not vulnerable to economic shocks and supply chain disruptions. This means developing independent financial systems, creating joint strategic reserves, and strengthening cyber and digital security.
In an era where unilateralism and decoupling are on the rise, collaboration is the only way to survive. But we are not looking for transitory collaborations; we are seeking structural and synergistic collaborations. The path ahead for BRICS must be based on respect for national sovereignty and cultural differences. We must go beyond traditional collaborations and move toward strategic synergy; where the capabilities of each country complement the needs of another.
True collaboration goes beyond signing simple agreements. We must create a platform where our collaborations are upgraded from the level of commodity trade to the level of integrating value chains and joint investments in critical infrastructure. We must seek to build a bridge that establishes a lasting connection, based on mutual respect, between the countless capacities of BRICS countries and their developmental needs.
All our efforts in innovation, resilience, and collaboration will be meaningless if they are built upon the ashes of environmental destruction and severe social inequalities. Sustainability is not only an environmental goal but also an economic and political necessity. Our navigation must ensure that today's economic growth is not achieved at the cost of destroying the resources of future generations. We must seek development in which social justice and the health of the planet Earth keep pace with material progress.
No progress is real progress if its cost is environmental destruction or social injustice. We must provide a platform where "economic growth" is tied to "environmental protection." This means investing in clean energies, smart management of water resources, and supporting development that guarantees social justice.
Sustainability must be considered as a criterion in all BRICS development projects.
The navigation is difficult and the challenges are immense; but our power lies in collaboration. Let us not consider this meeting as the end of dialogues, but rather as the beginning of a strategic operation to build a world where innovation, resilience, collaboration, and sustainability are not just distant ideals, but tangible realities of our people's daily lives.
End Article