Egyptian parliament approves agreement to join BRICS New Development Bank

Egypt's parliament has approved an agreement approved by the government allowing the country to join the New Development Bank of the BRICS Group (NDB), as reported by Prensa Latina, a partner of TV BRICS, quoting the Al-Ahram newspaper.

Mohamed Abdel-Hamid, deputy chairman of the House's Economic Committee, who was quoted by the newspaper, said that joining the organisation was beneficial for the country.

"We will benefit from financial and technical assistance from the NDB in areas such as sustainable development, health, infrastructure, transport, water-supply and telecommunications," he stressed.

The agreement helps reduce the demand for the US dollar as members of this bank can use their national currencies in bilateral trade. The move also opens up new horizons of economic cooperation with a major economic bloc like the BRICS grouping.

Deputy Ahmed El-Awadi, head of the House's Defence and National Security Committee, also praised the decision. According to the politician, it opens up new markets for Egypt's agricultural and industrial products.

Meanwhile, lawmaker Mervat Mattar endorsed the Russian Central Bank's decision a week ago to add the Egyptian pound to the list of foreign currencies exchangeable into rubles.

Last December, the Egyptian Council of Ministers announced the decision to join the BRICS financial institution after a relevant proposal by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, members of BRICS, established the New Development Bank in 2014 to finance infrastructure and sustainable development projects.