Egypt Files Formal Application to Join BRICS

Russia immediately answered “yes” to Egypt’s official request to become a full member of BRICS. Meanwhile, the French President asked to be invited to the BRICS summit.

After joining in 2021 as a shareholder of the New Development Bank, the BRICS banking institution, Egypt filed a formal application to join the group created in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

As Russian Ambassador to Cairo Georgy Borisenko said, “Russia supports Egypt’s application to join BRICS, and formal entry can take place after the final confirmation within the requirements and procedures for the admission of new countries.”

Borisenko believes that “Egypt’s entry into BRICS will open up new and very broad political and economic opportunities for the Egyptian people; the influence of Cairo in world affairs will grow, and the country will finally be able to participate in the development of alternative mechanisms for financial settlements in national currencies.”

The Russian ambassador stressed that “for BRICS, Egypt is a country that represents both Africa and the Arab world and is very important for its strategic position.”

As Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated, “at least 20 countries of the world want to join BRICS.” In addition to Egypt, such countries as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Mexico, and some other African countries have also applied to join both BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

According to the Elysée Palace’s sources quoted by the L’opinion newspaper, French President Emmanuel Macron allegedly “asked South African President Cyril Ramaphosa about the possibility of participating in the BRICS 2023 summit scheduled in Johannesburg in August.”

“This possibility was discussed during Macron’s telephone conversations with Ramaphosa on June 3,” the publication clarified.

According to BRICS sources, “this type of a request surprised Ramaphosa.” In the words of a person familiar with this matter, South Africa did not say whether it would allow other international leaders to attend the event. Moscow did not rule out the possibility of Macron’s participation in the summit, but asked Paris “very frankly” to explain the reasons for the French request.