Egyptian flag with mosques in the background. File photoCAiro, Jul 14Pressure from the United States will not affect the determination of Egypt and a number of other Arab countries to join the BRICS, such an opinion was expressed in an interview with RIA Novosti by Professor of Political Science at the Faculty of Economics and Politics of Cairo University Nurhan al-Sheikh. Head of the Department of International Economic Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Li Kexin reported that there are several countries that are «knocking at the door» of the BRICS: Indonesia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Argentina. The head of the BRICS forum, Purnima Anand, later said that Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia could «very soon» join the group. According to the Izvestia newspaper, the head of the BRICS forum expressed confidence that the accession of Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia should go quickly, since these countries are «already in the process.» She added that the join will not happen all at once.Egypt will buy 815,000 tons of wheat, including from RussiaAccording to Al-Sheikh, who is a member of the Egyptian Council on Foreign Affairs, Egypt and a number of other Arab states, such as the UAE, really want to join the BRICS. «There will be some pressure from Washington. Because he understands that the BRICS is an important step towards a new world economic system, and this will undermine the de facto monopoly of the dollar,» said Nurhan al-Sheikh. According to the expert, Washington's fears about the growth of the BRICS have intensified with the onset of the crisis in Ukraine.» «The Ukrainian crisis has proved the effectiveness of BRICS as an alternative system that Russia is proposing in partnership with other countries, especially China. I think that there will be some pressure from Washington, but this will not affect the decision of Egypt and a number of other Arab countries to join the BRICS», — said a professor at Cairo University. BRICS is an economic bloc founded in 2006. It includes Russia, China, Brazil, India and South Africa.
