After completing the necessary procedures, Egypt has officially become a new member of the New Development Bank (NDB) established by the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa).
This comes weeks after Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi paid a state visit to India as the chief guest for the Republic Day celebrations.
NDB announced, on its official website, that Egypt officially became a new member on February 20 of this year, but the notification did not appear until March 22.
Read more: Will Egypt join the BRICS economic alliance?
The Bank’s Board of Governors had authorized the management to hold formal talks with potential new member states by the end of 2020. NDB agreed to accept Egypt’s membership in December 2021. The UAE, Uruguay, and Bangladesh were also discussed for membership in September of the same year. According to the Russian news agency Tass, all of these countries except Uruguay obtained official membership in the bank after completing the necessary procedures.
The BRICS countries established NDB after an intergovernmental agreement was signed in July 2014 at the sixth BRICS summit in Fortaleza, Brazil.
The Bank’s activities are designed to finance infrastructure projects and sustainable development in BRICS and developing countries. Since its inception, the bank has approved more than 90 projects totaling $32 billion to support areas such as transportation, water supply, and clean energy, as well as civil construction, and social and digital infrastructure.
New outlet for the economy
Mohamed Attia Al-Fayoumi, treasurer of the General Federation of Chambers of Commerce confirmed that Egypt’s accession to the BRICS grouping is a new outlet for the economy, reduces pressure on the dollar, and eases the burden on the central bank.
Al-Fayoumi pointed out that the new economic alliances would reduce the need for dollars, which will reflect positively on the Egyptian economy, pointing out that such agreements are considered a lifeline provided by the government to the people.
Upcoming summit
The upcoming BRICS Summit, scheduled to be hosted by South Africa in August, is anticipated to promote intra-BRICS trade using national currencies, allowing member nations to safeguard their foreign exchange reserves.
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