New member Egypt says it wants to deepen ties with BRICS

Egypt aims to deepen ties with other BRICS members after acceding to the group at the start of this year, and trade volumes have already been strengthening, the country's planning minister said on Thursday.

Egypt aims to deepen ties with other BRICS members after acceding to the group at the start of this year, and trade volumes have already been strengthening, the country's planning minister said on Thursday. Planning Minister Hala al-Said said Egypt sought to bolster cooperation with the bloc and with its New Development Bank (NDB) after meeting NDB President Dilma Rousseff at the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong.

Imports from BRICS countries, originally Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, had risen by about 33% since 2020 and exports to BRICS members had increased by 75%, the planning ministry said in a statement. Egypt is one of six countries that were invited to join BRICS from Jan. 1 this year.

Egypt hopes its inclusion in the group will help ease a chronic shortage of foreign currency by reducing the need for U.S. dollar transactions and attract new investment, though analysts say it may take time before any benefits appear.