Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi used a virtual appearance at a special BRICS summit Monday to deliver one of his sharpest critiques yet of the international order, accusing major powers of applying "flagrant double standards." He warned that the system underpinning global security is at risk of collapse. Speaking at the invitation of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, whose country holds the bloc's rotating presidency, Sisi said the United Nations Security Council had been rendered "paralysed" by the use of veto power and called for sweeping reforms, including abolishing the veto altogether. The system, he said, has left conflicts to fester, undermining faith in multilateralism and allowing wars to spread unchecked. Sisi positioned Egypt as a voice for developing nations, urging BRICS members — Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and a group of recently admitted states — to press for a fairer economic and political balance. He called for expanding trade in local currencies, bolstering development finance, and investing in renewable energy and artificial intelligence. The president devoted a significant portion of his address to the war in Gaza, condemning Israel's military campaign as "an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe" that he said has sought to uproot Palestinians through hunger, displacement and destruction. He reiterated Egypt's categorical rejection of any attempt to displace Palestinians from their land, arguing that such a scenario would amount to the liquidation of the Palestinian cause and a death blow to the two-state solution. Egypt, he said, has drafted a reconstruction plan for Gaza backed by Arab and Islamic states and international partners, and intends to host a donor conference once a ceasefire is reached. "Real peace will not be built in reports or communiqués," Sisi said, "but in justice, dignity and the daily lives of people." Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English
