Russia to sign BRICS pact on science and innovation
March 22, 2015, 7:57 am

The BRICS Bank launched last year will fund infrastructure projects in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and challenge the dominance of the Western-led World Bank and the IMF [GCIS]

“Russia jointly with its BRICS partners has prepared a draft Memorandum on Cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovations Between the Governments of the Federal Republic of Brazil, the Russian Federation, the Republic of India, the People’s Republic of China and the South African Republic,” said the statement. The next BRICS Summit will be held in the Russian city of Ufa on July 9-10 this year.

BRICS countries, led by China, are looking to offer incentives to nudge domestic companies to shift from low-value, low-cost manufacturing to fostering innovation.

The power bloc is aiming to step up coordination in “food supply security, sustainable agriculture, climate change, renewable energy, space, aeronautics, astronomy and space-based Earth observation, medical science and biotechnology; high-tech zones, science parks and incubators; technology transfer”.

“The institutional basis for cooperation will be meetings of ministers of science, technology and innovation, meetings of senior officials in science, technology and innovation, and a working group on science, technology and innovation of BRICS member-states,” added the statement.

Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies became the world’s No. 1 applicant for international patents in 2014, a United Nations agency said Thursday, underscoring the innovative strides made by Chinese technology companies.

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) said China was the only country to see double-digit growth in its filings.

The Science & Technology Ministers Conference of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) was held in Brazil this week.

The five countries have established five thematic working areas, with each BRICS member providing leadership in one of them.

South Africa is to take the lead in astronomy, while Brazil will lead in the area of climate change and natural disaster mitigation, Russia in water resources and pollution treatment, India in geospatial technology and its applications, and China in new and renewable energy efficiency.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has already signed the ratification of a law that sanctions Russian participation in the $100 billion BRICS Bank.

The BRICS bank, Putin has said, “will become one of the largest multilateral financial development institutions in the world”.

“The bank and the Currency Pool, with combined resources of 200 billion dollars, lay the foundation for coordinating a macroeconomic policy between our nations,” Putin said during the 6th BRICS Summit in Brazil.

TBP