Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday stressed the need to ensure freedom of navigation and commerce and the safety and well-being of seafarers as he held talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit here.Modi said India and Iran should move forward with a “long-term and win-win strategy”. “Happy to have met Dr Masoud Pezeshkian, the President of Iran. This visit is more special because it is his first visit to India. We talked about the India-Iran friendship. We believe that we should move forward with a long-term and win-win strategy,” Modi said in a post on X after the meeting. The two leaders discussed bilateral ties as well as the prevailing situation in West Asia, with Modi reiterating India’s position that all issues in the region should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.The meeting was the second between Modi and Pezeshkian in less than two weeks. The two leaders had earlier met on August 31 on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Bishkek.“From Bishkek to Delhi, the productive discussions continue,” Modi said, adding that India remained committed to the pursuit of enduring peace in the region.Modi thanked Pezeshkian for Iran’s regular high-level participation in BRICS meetings despite the challenging circumstances and said the grouping could help build resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability among countries of the Global South.He also thanked Pezeshkian for participating in the leaders’ session of the BRICS Business Forum.The Iranian readout said Pezeshkian stressed the need to continue implementing strategic agreements between Iran and India.The talks came during Pezeshkian’s first visit to India and amid continuing tensions in West Asia.Speaking before departing for India, President Pezeshkian said BRICS provides an important platform for dialogue with major countries. He highlighted the participation of China, Russia, Brazil, India and other regional countries as an opportunity for bilateral and multilateral consultations.The two leaders also appreciated continued cooperation between India and Iran in multilateral organisations, including BRICS.Meanwhile, addressing the BRICS Business Forum here on Friday, Pezeshkian called on BRICS countries to create an economic system in which no country could disrupt another member’s legitimate trade by monopolising financial instruments or technology, as he pushed for greater economic resilience among the grouping.Pezeshkian said economic resilience required BRICS countries to diversify their trade partners, sources of financing and payment channels. He cited Iran’s experience of sanctions and what he described as recent military aggression by the United States and Israel, saying the episode had highlighted the link between economic and national security.He also called for greater use of national currencies in trade among BRICS members. He said this should be backed by mechanisms to manage currency risks and enable reciprocal settlements, arguing that the existing financial system was vulnerable to political shocks because of its concentration around a limited number of currencies.