In the capital city of Kazan, Russia, the African giant Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is currently hosting the 16th BRICS summit with the firm intention of the Arab nation to encourage economic cooperation among developing nations. Egypt, which is a new member of BRICS, needs this format if not to alter the international economic indicators to improve its place in enhancing investment flows and to strengthen its position in the international economic organizations.
Speaking at the summit, President Sisi called for the creation of efficient and new funding models suitable for emerging market countries. She emphasized that further attention should be paid to the role of sustainable public debt and concessional financing in achieving the development objectives in the context of an increase in the level of global risks.
Sisi’s participation marks Egypt’s first engagement as an official BRICS member since joining earlier this year. The president also stressed that Egypt is committed to developing cooperation formats within BRICS, especially in such areas as agriculture, digitalization, and renewable energy. It has been realised that these areas are strategic in terms of launching economic development and responding to challenges such as global warming and poverty eradication.
The BRICS Summit also subdivisioned opportunities for bilaterals between the Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Aty and Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov. Their talks mainly aimed at the realisation of cooperation in the framework of performing concluded joint initiatives and cooperation in the economic sphere in connexion with Egypt recent becoming a member of BRICS. During the meeting the two ministers also discussed the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon and the position of Egypt as a mediator.
President Sisi stressed more use of local currencies to increase economic security of the BRICS countries in their mutual operations. He pointed out that currently challenges of developing countries are high debt burden and constrained credit. According to Sisi, local currency use will enhance economic cooperation and cut reliance on conventional ways within BRICS.
The summit, Putin also called for formation of a BRICS grain exchange platform and investment platform to arrange and advance mutual investment of the member countries. These proposals correlate almost perfectly with Egypt’s intentions on improving economic relations within BRICS and increasing its presence on the international stage.
Egypt has joined this group because it seeks to assert a new strategic international position as a powerful and significant player in the international system. This way, by partnering with the emerging economic superpowers such Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and UAE, Egypt aims at making a louder call to address global challenges collectively.
Throughout the course of the summit, Egypt dismissed the importance of enhancing cooperation with the countries of BRICS and work for the relevant and fair resolution of the global problems of the economy. President Sisi’s active engagement underscores Egypt’s determination to contribute meaningfully to international development agendas through its newfound position within this influential bloc.
