UAE entry to BRICS+ not 'pivot from the US': Finance Minister

News Desk - The Cradle 

The UAE official nonetheless highlighted that Abu Dhabi's primary focus at the moment is to develop ties with the Global South

UAE Finance Minister Abdulla bin Touq al-Marri on 28 August denied claims that the country's upcoming entry to the BRICS+ bloc of emerging economies is a “pivot” away from the US.

Nonetheless, the official stressed Abu Dhabi's primary focus for now is to deepen ties with nations in the Global South.

“We are focusing on our growth with the US, we have grown about $23 billion in trade with the US, a growth from $20 billion last year. There is huge work happening with the west; there is huge work happening with G20 every year,” Marri said during a televised interview with Bloomberg TV.

“Going to the Global South, that’s the most important aspect where we are focusing on at the moment, and that will grow,” the finance minister added. “We want peace and prosperity, and with that comes the economy and comes trade,” Marri stressed.

“Joining BRICS will add a lot to the UAE's multilateral support to the world. We are focusing on our global trade; the UAE has always been a global hub."

Elsewhere in the interview, the Emirati official revealed that his country is ready to inject more capital into the BRICS+ New Development Bank (NDB). “We are actually going to push more” and will “indeed” inject capital into the NDB, the minister told Bloomberg TV, without specifying an amount.

The UAE was among six nations that received official invitations last week to become full members of BRICS+. The other nations invited were Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, Argentina, and Ethiopia.

Abu Dhabi has been a member of the NBD since 2021. Last month, the multilateral institution elected Thuraiya Hamid Alhashmi, the Director of the International Financial Relations and Organizations Department at the UAE Finance Ministry, as a member of its Board of Directors and a Constituency Director.

As one of the few countries to manage over $1 trillion in sovereign wealth capital, the UAE is a deep-pocketed contributor to the NDB for its work lending to development projects in emerging markets.

According to the NDB website, the Shanghai-based bank has authorized capital of $100 billion and has approved 90 projects worth almost $32 billion.

While the UAE has started to move bilateral trade with some nations away from the US dollar, the Emirati dinar remains pegged to the greenback. Furthermore, the Gulf state hosts US forces at its air base.

Abu Dhabi's growing ties with Global South institutions have already sparked concerns in Washington. Last month, the US Committee on Foreign Investment pumped the brakes on the Gulf state's planned takeover of New York-based Fortress Investment Group due to “national security concerns.”