MOSCOW, June 14. /TASS/. Egypt has submitted its application to join BRICS, Russian Ambassador to Cairo Georgy Borisenko confirmed.

"Egypt has submitted its application to join the BRICS group because one of the endeavors that BRICS is currently pursuing is to shift trade to alternative currencies, be it national currencies or a new common currency. Egypt is very much interested in that," the envoy said in an interview with TASS.

According to him, Egypt is eager to boost trade and economic cooperation with Russia. "New payment mechanisms are being created for trade transactions," the ambassador added.

The foreign ministers of BRICS member states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) held a meeting in Cape Town on June 2. The meeting was also attended by top diplomats from the 12 countries of the Global South that wish to join the group, namely Argentina, Bangladesh, the Comoros, Cuba, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Gabon, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.