V-5. BRICS: Innovative Development Trajectory

Conveners: Eldar Salakhetdinov (Institute for African Studies, Moscow, Russia); e-mail: e.salakhetdinov@gmail.com, Vasily Sidorov (Institute for African Studies, Moscow, Russia), e-mail: vasilsid@yandex.ru

One of the priority directions for cooperation within BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) – is decrease in degree of technological dependence of organisation’s member countries. In 2014, within the framework of enhanced cooperation in the sphere of science, technologies and innovations (STI), Cape Town Declaration in which countries expressed commitment to the programme of cooperation in the domain of science and innovations was signed. The document recognises the crucial role of STI in ensuring countries’ strategic development. Declaration recognizes and endorses the establishment of five thematic areas and leadership, namely:
1. Climate change and natural disaster mitigation, led by Brazil;
2. Water resources and pollution treatment, led by Russia;
3. Geospatial technology and its applications, led by India;
4. New and renewal energy, and energy efficiency, led by China;
5. Astronomy, led by South Africa.
The panel aims to answer the following questions:
- to give an assessment of BRICS cooperation viability in STI, and also to define the current state of cooperation in this sphere between BRICS countries;
- to explain the selection of five thematic areas and to understand whether these areas match countries strategies in these spheres. What bilateral agreements in the sphere of science and technologies already exist and what are the outcomes of their implementation?
- to what degree the Cape Town Declaration complies or contradicts the cooperation process of India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA)?
- how the growth of geopolitical tension (in the Black Sea and South China Sea regions) can limit or contribute to the scale of cooperation in science and technologies?