National Security Advisor Ajit Doval held bilateral discussions with Iranian officials on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, as India continues to navigate its multilateral security engagements across competing geopolitical axes. The meeting underscores New Delhi’s effort to maintain balanced diplomatic channels with key players in West Asia while managing its broader strategic partnerships.
According to News on AIR, Doval also held separate talks with officials from China, Brazil, and Ethiopia during the BRICS gathering. These back-to-back engagements reflect the NSA’s role in advancing India’s defence and security interests across multiple regional and global forums.
India’s engagement with Iran has historically been complex, shaped by energy security needs, regional stability concerns, and constraints imposed by international sanctions regimes. The defence and strategic relationship between New Delhi and Tehran has included naval coordination in the Indian Ocean, port access arrangements, and intelligence sharing on regional security threats, particularly concerning maritime piracy and terrorist organisations operating across the Gulf and Arabian Sea.
The BRICS platform has emerged as a significant venue for India to coordinate with non-Western powers on issues ranging from cybersecurity to counterterrorism and maritime security. Doval’s engagement with Brazil reflects India’s deepening defence ties in the Southern Hemisphere, while discussions with Ethiopia underscore New Delhi’s growing strategic footprint in the Horn of Africa region, a zone of increasing interest for Indian naval operations and counterterrorism efforts.
The interaction with Chinese officials carries particular significance given the ongoing border tensions in Ladakh and the need for military-to-military communication mechanisms to prevent escalation. Regular NSA-level talks between India and China remain critical confidence-building measures despite fundamental strategic differences.
India’s approach to these multilateral security dialogues reflects a deliberate strategy of non-alignment, avoiding exclusive blocs while building issue-based partnerships. This approach has become central to India’s maritime security doctrine, intelligence cooperation frameworks, and defence technology partnerships across regions.
The BRICS summit itself has increasingly focused on security cooperation, including discussions on countering terrorism, combating transnational crime, and coordinating responses to regional conflicts. For India, these forums provide opportunities to advance positions on issues like terrorism financing, cross-border militant networks, and maritime security without being bound by Cold War-era alliances.
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