The 10th Meeting of BRICS Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Council

DSC05826The 10th Meeting of the BRICS STI Council chaired by Mr. Grigory Trubnikov was held in Moscow in the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation on the 13th of February, 2020, with the participation of representatives of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, BRICS STI Secretariat (Analytical center ICISTE), the Russian Academy of Sciences, Federal Agency “Rossotrudnichestvo”, RFBR, UNIDO Center Office in Russia, heads of the BRICS STI Working Groups and other research centers and institutes.

Russian Presidency in BRICS in 2020 became the top agenda of the Meeting. The STI activities calendar for the upcoming year and key STI initiatives of the Russian Federation to be implemented during the Russian Presidency were outlined in the Meeting. The heads of the BRICS STI Working Groups and other platforms of cooperation introduced the reports on the activities, held within the framework of their activities in 2019.

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The representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Mr. Vladimir Poluektov, acknowledged the importance of the cooperation among the BRICS countries as a key priority for the Government of the Russian Federation. The key milestones of the Russian Presidency in BRICS in 2020 include increase of life standards and life quality in the BRICS countries; extension of cooperation opportunities for academic, scientific centers, research institutes and universities of the BRICS countries, incl. joint calls with the participation of research universities of the BRICS countries in the BRICS STI Programme. More than 150 events are to be held in 2020 within the framework of Russian Presidency in BRICS.

The 5th anniversary of the adoption of the general document, reflecting the collective decisions of BRICS countries in science, technology and innovation (the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in science, technology and innovation, signed by the BRICS countries on the 18th of March, 2015 in Brazil) was marked at the Meeting of the BRICS STI Council.

Special focus was given to the key STI initiatives of the Russian Federation in the year of the Russian Presidency in BRICS:

  • BRICS Global Research Advanced Infrastructure Network (BRICS GRAIN). The platform of cooperation provides scientists, researchers and entrepreneurs with the opportunity of cooperation within the framework of the collaboration on Research infrastructures of the BRICS countries;
  • BRICS Virtual Institute of Photonics (BRICS VIP). The platform of cooperation ensures effective and beneficial partnership among BRICS countries representatives in the area of photonics;
  • BRICS Network Centre for Materials Science and Nanotechnology (BRICS-RCMN);
  • BRICS Water forum.