Egypt’s FM: BRICS well-geared to be representative voice of global south

CAIRO – 27 September 2023: Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry hailed emerging economies grouping BRICS expansion late in August to include Egypt as a “very important development.”

In an interview with CGTN America, Shoukry said the step will be beneficial for Egypt and other BRICS members in creating a wider area of cooperation economically.

Shoukry said he also hopes BRICS expansion will increase coordination among the member states and the volume of their trade exchange.

“The world has changed and I think BRICS is well-geared to be a representative voice of the global south,” Shoukry stressed.

On 24 August, BRICS, a group that already comprises the economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, invited Egypt, Argentina, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE to join the grouping.

The economies of the current five BRICS countries combined account for only more than a quarter of the world's gross domestic product (GDP), according to the World Bank.

Egypt has hailed the step as a way to reduce pressure on state budget, which bears huge burdens to provide basic needs of wheat and fuel amid global crisis.

Egypt aspires to benefit from the idea of dealing in national currency among member states of the BRICS with the country currently suffering from a foreign currency crunch.

The shortage in foreign currency in Egypt has caused the import bill to surge and fuel and wheat prices to hike.

In this regard, Egypt suffers from a “dollar gap” of up to $30 billion, which require investments of around $100 billion over the coming five to seven years, according to estimations by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in February.