Egypt voices aspiration to cooperate with BRICS countries after being invited to join bloc

CAIRO, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on Thursday thanked the BRICS for inviting Egypt to join in as a new member state, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.

"I highly value the BRICS's invitation of Egypt to join the economic bloc as of January 2024, and we are proud of the confidence of all bloc countries in Egypt," the statement quoted Sisi as saying.

BRICS is the acronym for an emerging-market bloc that groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Sisi's remarks came shortly after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on the final day of a BRICS summit that six countries including Egypt are to join the bloc as new members next year. The other five countries are Argentina, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Egypt looks forward to cooperating with all BRICS member states in the coming period, and with the other countries invited to join the bloc, to achieve its objectives for boosting economic cooperation and raising the voices of the Global South concerning different developmental issues and challenges in a way that supports the rights and interests of the developing countries, Sisi said.