Egypt intends to stop using the US currency in trade with a number of BRICS nations, the North African nation's Supply Minister Ali Moselhy has reportedly said.
According to Moselhy, Egypt is looking to utilize local currencies to pay for goods from important BRICS nations, including Brazil, South Africa, and Russia, China, and India.
"Nothing of the sort has been implemented but there are discussions so that we can trade in local currencies of countries like India, Russia or China," Moselhy stated.
The country has seen a substantial increase in inflation over the past year as a result of repeated rounds of currency devaluations, a protracted foreign currency shortage, and ongoing delays in obtaining imports, reports say.
Nearly a third of the globe's GDP and 40% of the world’s population are represented by the BRICS group. Recently, the G7 fell behind the bloc's members in terms of economic development, the International Monetary Fund stated.
By now, 19 nations have shown interest in joining BRICS. The organization is preparing for its 15th annual summit, which will take place in South Africa from August 22 to 24.
Among the nations that have formally asked to join are Algeria, Argentina and Iran with Bahrain, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia having expressed interest in joining BRICS.