Egypt officially in BRICS: What should we expect?

Economists, speaking to Ahram Online, expressed their positive outlook regarding Egypt's potential gains from BRICS membership.

"In the short term, the trade partnership between Egypt and the bloc's countries is expected to be active, focusing on the food security file due to Russia's significant role as the primary supplier of Egypt’s wheat imports. Additionally, efforts will concentrate on boosting revenues within the tourism sector,” said economist Shaymaa Sherif.

Egypt's trade exchange with BRICS members, including founding and new members, amounts to $46.673 billion – or more than a third of the country's total external trade, according to official data of 2022 and 2023 numbers.

The BRICS countries are actively seeking to improve the settlement of transactions among themselves in local currencies to reduce dependency on the US dollar, Sherif noted.

She predicted the impact of these measures to be seen during the second half of 2024.

In 2023, Egypt signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) and an agreement for debt swap and settlement of trade in local currencies with the UAE and China, also BRICS members.

In November 2023, Yehia El-Watheq Bellah, head of the Egyptian Commercial Service (ECS) announced that Egypt and Saudi Arabia are considering the use of local currencies in trade exchange.