In a bid to strengthen trade and economic cooperation, Egypt has formally applied to join the BRICS group of five emerging economies, according to Russian Ambassador to Cairo Georgi Boritsenko. The BRICS group includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Egypt has applied to join the BRICS group because one of the initiatives that the BRICS countries are currently participating in is to maximize the transfer of trade to alternative currencies, whether it is national currencies or the creation of some kind of joint currency. Egypt is very interested, Boritsenko said. The Russian envoy also added that Egypt wants to strengthen relations with Russia. New payment mechanisms are being created for trade transactions.

The confirmation of Egypt's request to join BRICS came days after a meeting of the member states' foreign ministers in Cape Town, which also witnessed the presence of diplomats from other countries including Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

In February 2023, Egypt joined the BRICS New Development Bank, which could boost the country's infrastructure and address its ongoing economic crisis. The country's lawmakers have welcomed the step as it could help the crisis-hit country reduce its demand for dollars.

On June 13, Egypt's Supply Minister Ali Moselhi said the country plans to pay for imports from India, China and Russia in local currencies instead of the US dollar. "No such measures have been implemented, but discussions are underway so that we can trade in the local currencies of countries like India, Russia or China," Moselhy said.

Meanwhile, Egypt's annual urban consumer inflation rate accelerated to 32.7 percent in May from 30.6 percent in April, largely due to higher food prices, according to the country's statistics agency CAPMAS. The report noted that Egypt also saw a spike in month-on-month urban inflation, which rose from 1.7 percent in April to 2.7 percent in May.Editor/XingWentao