MOSCOW, November 9. /TASS/. The agreement on a joint orbital cluster of Earth’s remote sensing satellites of member states of the BRICS association (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) will ensure their sustainable social and economic development, Roscosmos Head Yury Borisov said at a meeting of the association’s space chiefs on Wednesday.

"This year, a mechanism for implementing the agreement has been created: a joint committee on cooperation in outer space has been established and a corresponding task force has been set up, authorized organizations have been appointed to facilitate ongoing interaction in space surveys of declared territories and an exchange of data obtained," the space agency Roscosmos quoted Borisov as saying in his welcome address to participants in the BRICS forum on the use of the orbital cluster of Earth’s remote sensing satellites held on November 8.

The forum was also attended by head of the China National Space Administration Zhang Kejian, President of the Brazilian Space Agency Carlos Augusto Teixeira de Moura, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization Sreedhara Panicker Somanath, acting CEO of the South African National Space Agency Andiswa Mlisa and acting Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs Niklas Hedman.

As part of the next stage of their interaction under the agreement, the BRICS member states could coordinate their activity in processing space imagery results and sharing experience in creating and using apps for applicable purposes, the Roscosmos chief said.

The feasibility of carrying out joint space programs largely depends on the international situation, Borisov stressed.

"In this regard, I deem it necessary to stress the need to align the positions of BRICS countries and coordinate efforts to promote them at international and regional forums, primarily, at the UN Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and its subcommittees across the entire range of scientific-technical and legal issues concerning our common interests," the Roscosmos chief pointed out.

The BRICS agreement on the orbital cluster of Earth’s remote sensing satellites was inked by the association’s space chiefs on August 18, 2021. The deal stipulates an exchange of data of the BRICS orbital constellation of Earth’s remote sensing satellites to help address the issues of climate change, environmental protection and the cleanup of natural and man-made disasters.