BRICS: Egypt officially ditchs US dollar for local currencies

Joseph Irikefe

The BRICS expansion continues since 2001 and had massive geopolitical implications. Alongside Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Ethiopia are expected to join the bloc. Now, Egypt has already expressed its desire to move away from the greenback in trade.

For much of the last year, BRICS made countless headlines for its activities and initiatives. Those actions were defined by its desire to decrease the international prevalence of the US dollar and to grow its ranks. Subsequently, both of those goals coincide with a development that occurred this week.

Indeed, now part of the BRICS alliance, Egypt is set to ditch the US dollar in its trade activity. Specifically, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated its intention earlier this week. The country assured that it will work to urge countries to trade within national currencies to lessen the burden of the rising cost of utilizing foreign currencies for settlements.

Furthermore, the country said that the decision was a result of a global economic shift. Indeed, they noted the “international crises over the past four years” as a major development in their decision. Subsequently, it is likely the change in trade currency is rooted in similar factors that have pushed the same action in many of the BRICS nations.

Following what happened to Russia, every BRICS country exists with a fear of imposed Western sanctions. Moreover, the United States economy and rising debt are not the most calming statistics for countries that rely on the currency. Therefore, the transition to local currency dependence is the best route for all emerging countries and global economic health.