Egypt Becomes A Member Of The BRICS New Development Bank – Silk Road Briefing

Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates joined the original five members in obtaining a position within the BRICS bank equity.

In a move expected to usher in Egypt as a full member of the BRICS grouping, Cairo has taken an equity position within the New Development Bank (NDB). The previous equity was divided equally among the initial members: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. This makes Egypt the first new member of the proposed expanded BRICS+ along with Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates.

The New Development Bank was established on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement signed by the BRICS countries at the 6th BRICS Summit in Fortaleza in July 2014.

The NBD approved Egypt’s accession in December 2021, while a similar decision was taken in September 2021 in respect of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Uruguay and Bangladesh. With the exception of Uruguay, they all became members of the bank this month, after jumping through the necessary hoops.

The bank aims to finance infrastructure projects and sustainable development projects in BRICS member countries and developing countries. The bank previously received “AA+” international credit ratings from Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings, allowing it to effectively attract long-term funding on international and local capital markets.

Since its inception, the Bank has approved more than 90 projects totaling US$32 billion in support of sectors such as transportation, water, clean energy, digital and social infrastructure, as well as urban construction. Several other countries have also expressed interest in joining the BRICS grouping – an overview of these can be seen Here,

Egypt: Fast Facts

GDP: USD404 billion

GDP per capita: USD3,880

2022 growth rate: 6.6%

Population: 104 million

Egypt is an energy and agricultural sport, with important exports including petroleum and petroleum products followed by raw cotton, cotton yarn and textiles. Raw materials, mineral and chemical products, and capital goods are also exported. Among agricultural exports are rice, onions, garlic and citrus fruits. Egypt is a member of arab trade zone Including Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Egypt is also a member African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) which reduces tariffs to zero on 98% of all intra-African trade.

Egypt is its dialogue partner Shanghai Cooperation Organization which includes China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as full members, while Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Cambodia, Kuwait, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates all hold various statuses as SCO dialogue partners and observers. Egypt’s most important trading partners include China, the United States, Italy, Germany, and the Gulf Arab countries.

BRICS developments were highlighted during this week’s meetings between President Xi and Putin in Moscow; and was mentioned as part of their “Joint Comprehensive Strategic Development Plan for a New Era,Xi told Putin that changes were coming – with Egypt’s immediate announcement of joining BRICS a sign that the world order is perhaps changing more quickly than initially thought.

Egypt is also negotiating free trade agreement With the Eurasian Economic Union.

Egypt’s entry into BRICS means that the trade group now has both north and south access to African Union markets, with South Africa as the southernmost member.

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