CAIRO, August 19. /TASS/. Egypt intends to make a request for joining BRICS at the upcoming summit of the association, to be held in South Africa on August 22-24, and counts on Russia's support in this matter, Mohamed al-Orabi, the chairman of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs and former foreign minister, told TASS.

"Egypt will take part in the BRICS summit on Tuesday, which will be held in South Africa, and will make a request for joining the association. Egypt is counting on Russia's support in this matter," Al-Orabi said.

Last year, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi put forward a proposal addressed to the government for joining the BRICS New Development Bank. At a meeting in December, the Cabinet supported this initiative and approved the head of state's draft resolution. At the end of January 2023 year, Egypt’s parliament approved an agreement allowing the country to join the financial institution in question. On June 14, Russia’s ambassador to Cairo, Georgy Borisenko, confirmed that Egypt had applied to join the association.

The South Africa-chaired BRICS summit will be held in Johannesburg on August 22-24. According to South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor, the BRICS leaders will discuss the organization's expansion.