Egypt hopes that its imminent membership in the BRICS group will help alleviate its foreign currency shortage and attract new investments. However, analysts suggest that it may take some time before any benefits from this step appear. The bloc, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, extended an invitation to Egypt and five other countries to join yesterday, and Cairo immediately welcomed the offer.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi stated shortly after the invitation was issued, "I value the announcement of the BRICS group inviting Egypt to join its membership starting January 2024. We cherish the trust of all the countries in the bloc with which we have close relations, and we look forward to cooperating and coordinating with them in the upcoming period, as well as with the invited countries to achieve the group's goals of strengthening economic cooperation among us."
In recent years, Egypt has faced an economic crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Egyptian pound has lost nearly half of its value within 18 months, and annual inflation surged to a record high of 36.5% in July. Additionally, excessive borrowing over the past eight years has increased the burden of repaying external debts. The dollar shortage crisis has forced Egypt to delay payments for its wheat imports.
