KAZAN, October 22. /TASS/. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has thanked his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, for Russia’s support for Egypt’s accession to BRICS.
"First of all, I would like to express gratitude for Russia’s support for Egypt’s accession to BRICS and for the efforts your country has been making throughout the year of its presidency of the group," he said at a meeting with the Russian leader in Kazan.
"Egyptian representatives attended many events organized by Russian over this period and the ongoing BRICS Summit in Kazan is the most important of them," he added.
The Egyptian leader expressed support for the idea to turn BRICS into a platform that could resist current international crises.
"Egypt supports the aspirations aimed at turning the BRICS group into a platform that could counter the negative consequences of the current international crises," he said.
He also called for invigorating the process of mutual investments within BRICS "free from any external restrictions." Apart from that, he stressed the importance of the development of bilateral trade and economic relations between the association’s member countries, "especially between Egypt and Russia."
The 16th BRICS Summit, which is the key event of Russia’s chairmanship in the association, is being held in Kazan on October 22-24. The BRICS group was founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, with South Africa joining it in 2011. On January 1, 2024, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, became its full-fledged members. The Kazan summit will be the first to be attended by the new members of the association. Representatives of over 30 countries are expected to take part.