Interview: BRICS expansion boosts global economic balance, Global South development: Egyptian expert

CAIRO, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- The historic expansion of BRICS to include five new members helps create a more balanced global economy and push for further development of the Global South, an Egyptian economist has told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Diaa Helmy, a member of the Economic Committee of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, said that the BRICS expansion "opens new markets for economic cooperation and trade exchange between the countries of the group, which is in the interest of South-South cooperation among emerging markets and developing countries."

Originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, the BRICS group welcomed Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as new members during the bloc's summit in August 2023. Their membership has taken effect since Jan. 1.

With the new members, BRICS would also contribute to counterbalancing the Western hegemony in the global economy, said Helmy, also secretary-general of the Cairo-based Egyptian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

"The BRICS bloc helps create a global economic balance, which would promote international economic justice, and remove barriers to the sustainable development of some countries," said the Egyptian expert.

Calling BRICS "a moderate and balanced group," Helmy commended its efforts to seek win-win cooperation for a shared future.

"This is the philosophy of BRICS and its founding members," he said, adding that he expected more countries to apply for BRICS membership in the future.

The BRICS expansion, which indicates a growing global awareness of the dominance of a few rich nations in the international affairs, has also raised the hope of emerging economies to reform the global governance system where the Global South is underrepresented, Helmy said.

"The U.S. control over international economic decisions leads to the suffering of other countries, especially countries of the Global South," the expert said.

As far as Egypt is concerned, Helmy believed that joining BRICS "opens vast economic horizons" for the most populous Arab country as it is working hard to localize modern technologies and industries as part of its sustainable development goals.

"BRICS is a group that seeks to enhance economic cooperation, open new markets, and exchange trade, technology, and expertise for common development," he noted.

Helmy said that the BRICS expansion is also "a win-win solution" for both the new members and the bloc.

"BRICS is a strong platform for economic cooperation as well as cultural and social exchanges, and a solid bridge for comprehensive sustainable development across the world," he said, adding that the bloc "will be surely strengthened by the presence of new members."