Experts: Egypt’s accession to the bloc gives it strength and enhances the economic capacity of member states
Egypt participates in the BRICS summit held in the city of Kazan. Russia, as an official member of it since the beginning of 2024, which gives it multiple advantages that contribute significantly to improving infrastructure, attracting investments, increasing incoming tourist traffic, resolving the dollar crisis and achieving self-sufficiency in wheat, in light of its entry into a new multipolar economic world, according to what Confirmed by specialized experts to “Rosa Al-Youssef” newspaper. .
Dr. Ayman Samir, an expert in international relations, said that there are more than 30 countries that have requested to join the membership of the “BRICS” group, but Egypt’s acceptance in the first batch of the bloc’s expansion came based on the multiple advantages that it enjoys. In it, considering that Cairo is the main force for peace and stability in the Arab region and the Middle East region, pointing out that the constant Egyptian endeavor to bring peace spreads hope for a better future throughout the region.
Samir explained: In a special statement to “Rosal Youssef”, one of the goals of “BRICS” is achieving the highest rates of development and prosperity for peoples, and peoples cannot prosper without there being peace and stability. Therefore, the BRICS countries look to Egypt when choosing it as a sponsor of peace and stability. In the entire region.
He pointed out that any country joining this “geopolitical” bloc would This group gives it great advantages, including Egypt, especially since it has two permanent members of the Security Council, namely China and Russia, and three nuclear states, namely India, China, and Russia. Also, this group constitutes more than a third of the national product and more than 30% of the global national product, and after the expansion it became The bloc produces about 66 trillion dollars annually, and represents more than 22% of international trade and more than 46% of the world’s population. Therefore, joining it from a political standpoint is a very large added value for every country.
And he sees « Samir » said that the accession of a country like Egypt adds to this bloc because it is the focus of political and security interactions in North Africa, the Middle East, the Arab region and the Mediterranean basin, and therefore this geopolitical position of Egypt as a crossroads of continents, in addition to the presence of the Suez Canal through which about 12% passes. From international trade, all of this gave Egypt more than one advantage in joining this bloc.
He explained that President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi had participated twice before in the BRICS summit before joining as a full member starting in January 2024, and Egypt had previously joined. To the New Development Bank, which is one of the financial and economic arms of the BRICS group, in addition to the Hedge Fund, which is the bank that finances development projects, digital transformation, new and renewable energy, and also infrastructure projects, all of which are Egyptian priorities and goals. The Hedge Fund also helps the national currencies of the BRICS countries to maintain Its value against other currencies, especially the dollar.
He continued: Egypt’s accession to BRICS opens new markets for Egyptian products and commodities, such as the Chinese, Indian, Russian, and Brazilian markets. Dealing in national currencies also saves Egypt billions of dollars when Egypt deals in the pound. versus the robin, the Chinese yuan, or the Indian rupee, pointing out that there is always priority in the commercial and economic advantages that the bloc countries enjoy in dealing with each other. For example, the BRICS group is one of the countries that produces the most wheat and grains in the world, such as India and Brazil. Russia, and the existence of an agreement between the BRICS countries to give priority and value to the member states over any other country, is a comparative advantage that makes the bloc countries very close to achieving self-sufficiency in a vital group of basic commodities such as wheat, oils, and fertilizers, all of which are Egyptian requirements, as are China, India, and Russia. Technologically advanced, and a major part of BRICS’ work is the localization of technology and the transfer of expertise, which is why the “Kazan” summit It focuses on several goals: political, security, economic, financial, and cultural.
While Dr. Rashad Abdo, head of the Egyptian Forum for Economic Studies and professor of international economics, believes that Egypt’s joining a huge bloc like the BRICS countries is of utmost benefit to Cairo. , which essentially seeks to attract foreign investments and improve infrastructure and currency, all of which are features that are easy for the BRICS to provide, given the presence of its own bank that provides low-cost financing. Therefore, Egypt is fortunate to join this group.
He added: The bloc. It included 5 countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, then it increased to 11 countries. The value of the economies of these countries amounts to about 30 trillion, or about 30% of the size of the world economy, and the gross domestic product of these countries is 37% of the total global product, which is It exceeds the G7 group, which includes the seven major countries, and their GDP reaches 30.7%, which are America, Japan, Canada, Britain, Italy, France, and Germany. In addition, the population of BRICS amounts to 3.5 billion people, or about 45% of the world’s population, and its area is 48% of the world’s area. They produce 44% of the world’s oil production, and the volume of their joint investments is 500 billion dollars, and the trade movement between them in 2023 was about 9.5 trillion dollars, which represents 30%, and the size of their cash reserves reached 5 trillion dollars.
The international economist explained that Egypt was cooperating with this bloc with a trade exchange value of $23 billion, noting that the group allocated $100 billion to enhance economic cooperation between its countries in joint development projects, and they established a bank to compete with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to finance projects. The infrastructure in the member states is at low interest rates, which allows Egypt to benefit from these advantages. The BRICS bloc also seeks to create a new, more just global economic system due to the controls of the Bank and the International Fund. It also seeks to break the dominance of the global economy and global financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
He continued: The BRICS bloc aims to enhance economic cooperation between the group, especially in the field of trade and investment, and focuses on investment opportunities in each country of the bloc. Therefore, Egypt has an opportunity to attract very large numbers of investments from this bloc. , especially China and Russia, especially in light of the presence of low-cost financing from the Asian Development Bank, and 100 billion has been allocated to help countries in development projects, especially infrastructure, and thus Egypt can attract investments and development funds from BRICS.
He stressed «Abdo», said that Egypt has many duties after joining BRICS, foremost of which is that it must work more to exchange goods in local currencies with the countries of the group, and it must also provide goods and services for exchange and improve infrastructure projects, so that it has a positive investment climate, as it should. Attracting low-cost investments and increasing the attraction of tourism from these countries.
Dr. Walid Gaballah, member of the Egyptian Society for Economics, Statistics and Legislation, agrees with them that the BRICS bloc is one of the largest blocs in the world, pointing out that this bloc has a role It is important as it aims to build a parallel, multipolar economic system and try to find alternatives to trade and investment operations away from the Bretton Woods system.
Jaballah explained that BRICS does not target its economy with the institutions of the Bretton Woods system, but rather aims to create Alternatives to it, so that pluralism is the mechanism that creates a more just global economy, and for this reason, the countries of the bloc have targeted international cooperation between member states and trade exchange, pointing out that Egypt joined the bloc last January, and during the first eight months of its accession, the volume of trade exchange increased to an extent. between Egypt and the bloc countries by about 15%, rising by about $30.2 billion. In addition, Egypt is going to the BRICS summit in Russia carrying files that focus on how to transform the bloc’s principles into projects on the ground, as it aims to present the investment opportunities available in Egypt to attract more investments. The bloc also includes the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the bloc countries. Major investors in these countries participate, which constitutes an important element of communication between Egypt and the bloc countries.
A member of the Egyptian Society for Economics, Statistics and Legislation believes that Egyptian participation in this summit It will have a significant impact on the ground and will result in pushing forward trade relations between Egypt and the bloc countries and increasing the volume of trade exchange, as well as enhancing investment opportunities in Egypt, and leading to greater investments by the BRICS countries in the coming period.
