The Presidency
“In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful”
Your Excellency, President Vladimir Putin
President of the Russian Federation,
Your Majesties and Excellencies,
Heads of State and Government,
Distinguished Guests,
It is my pleasure to address this session, which represents a favorable opportunity to exchange views and to hold consultations within a framework of openness to enhance common understanding of current international and regional issues.
I would also like to praise the briefing reports submitted by the President of the New Development Bank, and representatives of the BRICS Business Council, Women’s Business Alliance, and the BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism and confirm our full support for their work.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Egypt firmly believes in the importance of strengthening the multilateral international system, with the United Nations and its agencies at the core, as the fundamental pillar for preserving the gains of peace, stability and development, and the strong guarantee for safeguarding international peace and security.
However, the successive crises that have swept the world over the past years have demonstrated beyond doubt the inability of the international system to address fairly the conflicts around the world, in addition to the state of polarization and selectivity that has come to characterize the international system.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The international developments have shown that the shortcomings of the current international system are not limited to political and security issues, but extend to economic and developmental issues as well. Developing countries suffer from the escalation of the debt problem and the lack of the necessary funding to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, in addition to the high cost of financing and borrowing.
From this standpoint, Egypt accords priority to taking tangible steps to ensure that the international community undertakes its role in providing soft financing to achieve development in developing countries, through the creation of innovative and effective mechanisms for financing development, and comprehensive mechanisms to ensure the sustainable management of developing countries’ debts.
Esteemed Attendees,
I would also like to note that Egypt hosted last June the first international forum of the New Development Bank, which aims to introduce the bank’s operations and the support it provides to the public and private sectors, and discuss prospects for future cooperation among the BRICS member states.
This is in light of our belief in the important role played by the New Development Bank in providing soft financing to support the implementation of development projects in developing countries, especially in the sectors of transportation, clean energy, digital infrastructure, and urban development.
Your Majesties and Excellencies,
The expansion of BRICS membership at the beginning of this year reflects the intention of the bloc countries to enhance multilateral cooperation and uphold the voice and interests of developing countries at various international and regional forums.
From this standpoint, Egypt affirms its support for enhancing consultation and coordination among BRICS countries and intensifying cooperation to confront common international challenges, especially climate change, access to concessional financing, food security, mounting rates of poverty and hunger, and the widening digital and knowledge gap.
Egypt also stresses the importance of advancing cooperation frameworks in the field of financial settlements in local currencies, and investing in the comparative advantages of the bloc’s countries to launch joint economic, investment and development projects, especially in the fields of agriculture, industry, digital transformation, and new and renewable energy.
This is in addition to our support for the important role of the BRICS Business Council and the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance in intensifying cooperation between the private sector and business owners in the member states, as they are key partners in efforts to achieve sustainable development.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Before I conclude my remarks, I would like to once again affirm Egypt’s adherence to the principles and axes of action of the BRICS bloc, and its keenness to enhance cooperation among its countries in a way that contributes to maximizing its role in establishing security and stability, increasing global economic growth, and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Thank you.
