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Coronavirus pandemic

BRICS countries to hold competition of research projects on COVID-19 in June

It is planned that the competition will be announced in June 2020, whereas research groups of BRICS countries will be able to start implementation of projects at the end of 2020

MOSCOW, May 27. /TASS/. BRICS member-states plan to hold a competition of research projects aimed at searching for solutions to overcome the consequences of the global coronavirus infection pandemic, with the best of them planned to receive financing for research works, press service of Russia’s Ministry of Science and Higher Education said in a statement on Wednesday.

Joint scientific projects were discussed during an online meeting of the managing committee on science, technologies and innovations of BRICS states and the BRICS working group on financing science, technologies and innovations. Representatives of relevant ministries, embassies, as well as organizations of BRICS countries that finance science, technologies and innovations, participated in the meeting.

"The Russian side initiated holding a multisided interdisciplinary competition of BRICS research projects on the novel coronavirus infection, particularly on search for solutions to overcome the consequences of the global pandemic in the fields of healthcare, economy, social sciences, mental health and other areas of human life and activities. BRICS states welcomed the initiative," the statement said.

It is planned that the competition will be announced in June 2020, whereas research groups of BRICS countries will be able to start implementation of projects at the end of 2020. The Russian Foundation for Basic Research will act as a financing organization from the Russian side.

"Today all eyes are on the scientific community, which is set to unite efforts through international scientific and technical cooperation. In this respect it is gratifying to note that there exists a ready instrument for selecting and financing multisided scientific projects - the Framework program of BRICS in the field of science, technologies and innovations. The use of that mechanism will help implement large-scale researches on search for responses to global challenges," Russia’s coordinator of scientific, technical and innovative cooperation within BRCIS Victor Smirnov was quoted as saying.

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