Egypt is purportedly planning to shift away from the U.S. dollar in mutual trade with numerous member states of the BRICS economic bloc, according to the Egyptian Supply Minister.
“According to Moselhy, Egypt is seeking to use local currencies to pay for its imports from India, China, and Russia – key members of the BRICS group, which also includes Brazil and South Africa.
‘Nothing of the sort has been implemented but there are discussions so that we can trade in local currencies of countries like India, Russia or China’, Moselhy told the agency.
The BRICS group makes up 40% of the world’s population and almost a third of the global economy. The bloc members have recently outpaced the G7 in terms of economic growth.
Egypt is currently trying to buoy its struggling economy, which has been dragged down by a notable decline in revenues from tourism and a surge in commodity prices. Geopolitical tensions have also reportedly prompted foreign investors to pull about twenty billion dollars out of Egypt’s financial markets.
The nation has experienced a sharp surge in inflation over the last year following several waves of currency devaluations, a prolonged shortage of foreign currency, and continuing delays in procuring imports.
Egypt has recently agreed on a three billion dollar deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), while its Gulf allies have also pledged to come to Cairo’s aid with billions in investments”. -RT
The recent announcement that Egypt would be joining the New Development Bank was a sure-fire indication that Egypt would eventually join the BRICS alliance.
And, while it looks as though it won’t take long for the already viable alternative to the existing banking institutions to emerge as a bonafide financial powerhouse like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, unlike the World Bank, which assigns votes based on capital share, each participant country of the New Development Bank will be assigned a single vote.