Russia
Source: mid.ru

On June 10-11, the BRICS Foreign Ministers Meeting will take place at the Nizhny Novgorod Fair exhibition centre, located at13/1 Sovnarkomovskaya Street in Nizhny Novgorod.

Media representatives can apply for accreditation at the following website: https://reg-brics.roscongress.org/ru/registration/media-brics/min_foreign_aff until 12 noon (Moscow time) on May 31, 2024.

For accreditation issues, please contact Natalya Dedelyuk at the Roscongress Foundation by phone at +7 921 572 1205 (WhatsApp) or email: natalya.dedelyuk@roscongress.org.

For other issues, please contact the Press Centre of the Foreign Ministry at +7 499 244 2087 from 9 am to 6 pm (Moscow time).

The accredited media will receive detailed information about the programme and participation format at a later date.

Open events during the BRICS Foreign Ministers Meeting will be broadcast on the official website of the Russian BRICS Chairmanship and through the Foreign Ministry's information resources: in the Videos section of the Ministry's website (https://www.mid.ru/en/press_service/video/) and on its social media accounts: X (formerly Twitter) (https://twitter.com/MFA_Russia), Facebook* (https://www.facebook.com/MIDRussia), VKontakte (https://vk.com/mid), Odnoklassniki (https://ok.ru/midrossii), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/midrftube), and Rutube (https://rutube.ru/channel/23489815).

Russia
Source: tass.com

Introduction of BRICS currency to help create reliable payment mechanism — Indian expert

The promotion of the BRICS currency initiative is relevant now more than ever as "the global financial architecture has failed in recent years with financial instruments being weaponized."

NEW DELHI, May 22. /TASS/. The introduction of the BRICS currency will allow creating a reliable alternative payment mechanism, Anil Trigunayat, an Indian expert, research fellow at the Vivekananda Foundation expert center, told TASS.

"The proposal to introduce the BRICS currency is gaining steam. If it is launched it will allow creating a new and, possibly, more reliable alternative mechanism similar to the BRICS Bank. I think that it may be done gradually," he said.

The promotion of the BRICS currency initiative is relevant now more than ever as "the global financial architecture has failed in recent years with financial instruments being weaponized," Trigunayat said.

Speaking about expansion of BRICS, the expert noted that this process is a natural pace of developments provided that the criteria set are observed. "BRICS is quite a successful non-western geo-economic group, which five new members joined not long ago. Moreover, over two dozen countries are standing in the wings willing to join," he said.

India
Source: www.financialexpress.com

Ahead of the annual BRICS summit later this year, the BRICS Games will take place in Kazan, Tatarstan, from June 12 to 23, 2024, as part of Russia's Chairmanship of the association.

The tradition of holding sports events in the BRICS chair country began in 2016, with the first football tournament held in India. By 2017-2018, the BRICS countries had expanded the games to include three sports. Notably, in 2021, under India's Chairmanship, the BRICS Games were aligned with the Khelo India Games, showcasing a unique blend of international and national sporting events.

Due to the success of the initial games, organizers decided to expand the traditional program to include national sports from the participating countries. This expansion aims to highlight the cultural diversity and sporting traditions of each nation. The main goal of the BRICS Games is to strengthen friendly sports ties between nations, promoting principles of equality, non-discrimination, and equal access for all athletes to compete.

Over 12 days, about 5,000 athletes will compete in 29 sports in Kazan, the third capital of Russia. In addition to the BRICS member countries, young athletes from more than 60 countries are invited to participate, making the event a truly global competition.

A total of 392 medal sets will be awarded throughout the event, providing numerous opportunities for athletes to showcase their talents and achieve recognition.

As part of the BRICS Games, a BRICS Sport Ministers meeting is scheduled for June 21-22, 2024. This meeting aims to discuss and promote cooperation in sports among the BRICS nations, addressing issues such as sports development, infrastructure, and international collaboration.

The competitions are set to take place ahead of the BRICS Summit in October, which will also be hosted in Kazan. This alignment underscores the importance of sports in fostering international cooperation and understanding. The BRICS Games not only serve as a platform for athletic excellence but also as a means to strengthen diplomatic ties and cultural exchange among the participating countries.

The BRICS Games 2024 promises to be a grand event, celebrating not just athletic excellence, but also the spirit of unity and friendship among nations. The inclusion of national sports and the participation of young athletes from around the world highlight the games' commitment to diversity and inclusivity in sports. This year's event is expected to leave a lasting impact, promoting peace, harmony, and mutual respect through the universal language of sport.

Russia
Source: brics-russia2024.ru

Moscow hosted a meeting of the Heads of BRICS Space Agencies on 23 May 2024. The event was attended by Russia BRICS Sherpa and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Ryabkov.

In his welcome address Roscosmos Director General Yury Borisov said that BRICS countries now have more than 1,200 national orbital satellites in space taking into account the accession of new countries to the association.

At the plenary session 'Current and Future BRICS Projects', Borisov put forward an initiative to create an international system to ensure the safety of space activities. It would be built based on an open information platform with a software package that could exchange information and monitor the situation in near-Earth space.

Roscosmos has previously announced plans to build the 'Milky Way' civilian security system in space on the platform of the Russian automated warning system for dangerous situations in near-Earth space. The open platform would be an information hub for the 'Milky Way' to exchange data on the situation in near and deep space, including warnings about dangerous space objects approaching Earth in order to prevent collisions. This project is particularly important due to the huge increase in the number of satellites and space debris in recent years.

In addition to man-made objects, BRICS countries also plan to exchange data on natural processes in space, such as solar activity, galactic radiation, and the trajectory of dangerous asteroids and other space objects. The system would be open to any participant, regardless of their expertise, technical capabilities, goals, and the terms of cooperation.

"Both curious enthusiasts and amateur astronomers, as well as professionals in space activities, including regional or national monitoring systems, will be able to connect to the platform. Based on their choice and desire, the partners will be offered the opportunity to receive information, products, and services, and to offer their own based on their demands," Borisov said.

The Roscosmos Director General called on his colleagues from BRICS space agencies to consider the possibility of joining the open platform. In the future, he said, Roscosmos would consider options to expand its functionality in terms of exchanging remote sensing data and other space services.

He also proposed that BRICS partners cooperate in manned space exploration and noted the possibility of building modules within the Russian Orbital Station both for BRICS countries and a target BRICS module for a joint manned space programme. Such collaboration would involve scientific and practical research experiments, as well as a full training cycle for BRICS cosmonauts.

Borisov praised the collaboration of BRICS countries to expand the joint remote sensing satellite constellations. In 2023, BRICS countries exchanged information on the survey results of more than 27 million square kilometres of Earth's surface. Borisov proposed increasing the BRICS orbital remote sensing constellation using new orbital vehicles, including those with high spatial resolution imaging equipment.

During the meeting, the participants considered a draft joint statement by the Heads of BRICS Space Agencies calling on the global community to make every effort to prevent any type of weapons from being deployed in space and to refrain from any activities that could risk damage to the space environment and the long-term sustainability of space activities, including the use of civilian space infrastructure for undeclared purposes.

The Heads of BRICS Space Agencies discussed their contribution to the final declaration of the BRICS Summit in Kazan (22–24 October 2024). The Russian side presented an initiative to establish the BRICS Space Council. The proposal generated significant interest and was taken into consideration by the partners.

The Roscongress Foundation manages the event of Russia's BRICS Chairship.

Russia
Source: tass.com

Russia to launch Milky Way space activity safety project this year — Roscosmos

Roscosmos believes that this project will bolster the BRICS status as a participant in the safe space activity

MOSCOW, May 23. /TASS/. Russia intends to launch the Milky Way project this year to ensure space activity safety in near-Earth space, Roscosmos Executive Director for Long-Term Programs and Science Alexander Bloshenko said at a meeting of BRICS space agency chiefs on Thursday.

"The Milky Way system is envisaged as an open undertaking from the very outset and Roscosmos is ready to offer its BRICS partners to join it through an open information platform. We are planning its launch by the end of this year," the Roscosmos official said.

The open information platform is a system of space international monitoring, he explained.

"Our partners will be able both to receive services and offer their products," he added.


Roscosmos believes that this project will bolster the BRICS status as a participant in the safe space activity, he added.

"In the future, such a platform could become a link for information exchange between our countries. We have sent out a draft protocol for BRICS countries and offer to set up a joint working group and elaborate a plan of action - a work map," the Roscosmos official said.

The upgraded automated warning system will comprise 65 telescopes, and a space segment. As Bloshenko told TASS earlier, the space segment will embrace a cluster of specialized near-Earth space monitoring satellites. The launch of the first space vehicle is scheduled for 2027.

Russia
Source: tass.com

Roscosmos invited partners to cooperate in crewed flights

MOSCOW, May 23. /TASS/. With the accession of new states to the BRICS group the total strength of national satellite constellations of the association's member-countries has exceeded 1,200 spacecraft, Roscosmos CEO Yury Borisov has said.

"On May 23, a meeting of the heads of space agencies from the BRICS member-countries was held in Moscow under Russia's presidency. The event was also attended by Russia's sherpa in BRICS, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov. In his welcoming speech, Yuri Borisov, the CEO of Roscosmos, said that the accession of the new member-countries to BRICS increased the overall strength of national orbital groups to more than 1,200 satellites," the corporation said in a news release.

International system of ensuring space activities' security

It is noted that at the plenary session on current and future projects of BRICS Borisov came up with an initiative to create an international system to ensure the safety of space activities, to be built on the basis of an open information platform for information exchanges and monitoring of the situation in near-Earth space.

"The open platform will be a kind of information hub for exchanging data on the situation in both near and deep space, including warnings of potentially dangerous space objects in order to prevent collisions," Roscosmos added, noting that access to the system would be open to any participant, regardless of competencies and technical capabilities, goals and terms of cooperation.

BRICS module of Russia's orbital station


Roscosmos invited partners to cooperate in crewed flights. Borisov mentioned the possibility of creating, as parts of the Russian Orbital Station (ROS), both modules for individual BRICS countries and a common module of the BRICS alliance for a joint crewed space program.

"Such cooperation involves experiments for scientific and applied research and a full cycle of training BRICS cosmonauts," the state corporation stated.

Draft statement on preventing placement of weapons in space

Roscosmos said that the participants in the meeting considered a draft joint statement by the heads of BRICS space agencies calling on the world community to exert every effort to prevent the placement of weapons of any type in space and to refrain from activities fraught with risks of causing damage to the space environment and long-term sustainability of space activities, as well as from using civilian space infrastructure for undeclared purposes.

Russia
Source: tass.com

Roscosmos head voices support for establishing BRICS space council

According to Director General Yury Borisov, the issue could be discussed in more detail during bilateral talks on Friday

MOSCOW, May 23. /TASS/. Setting up a BRICS space council could facilitate consensus at international space forums, Roscosmos Director General Yury Borisov said on the sidelines of a meeting of the heads of BRICS space agencies in Moscow.

"A proposal was made today to establish a BRICS Space Council. We are currently working with BRICS member countries to draft an agreement on working together to build a fleet of satellites for remote sensing. Other joint projects will follow, be it navigation, manned flights or security in space exploration," the head of the Russian state-run space agency told reporters. "Establishing a BRICS Space Council would enable us to solve tasks across these fields more expediently, bring our positions closer at international space forums and jointly defend common interests," he explained.

According to Borisov, the issue could be discussed in more detail during bilateral talks on Friday. "If there is consensus between all participants, we will draft provisions on establishing a council," he added.

Such a body could consult on joint projects, taking the interests of all parties involved into account, Borisov concluded.