MOSCOW, May 30. /TASS/. The BRICS countries can create a technological alliance to cooperate in space, aircraft industry and other high technologies. Andrey Ionin, a member of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, voiced this opinion speaking at a round table in TASS on Tuesday. BRICS countries are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
"I believe that there are a lot of areas for technological alliances between our countries. First of all, these are very large-scale areas that require a lot of resources, time, money, serious competencies and should be based on large markets," the expert said.
In this context, he particularly singled out "big aircraft industry" and outer space as possible areas for establishing closer cooperation within the BRICS.
"Big aircraft industry is such a vivid example. Because everyone needs it, but these bans on using Boeing and Airbus aircraft showed that [external forces] can put an end to it at any moment," Ionin explained.
Speaking about cooperation in outer space, the specialist singled out a number of areas that "can be made relevant even now."
"Of course, this is a BRICS lunar project, because the exploration of the Moon, the exploration of deep space is actually a universal project," the analyst said.
He also drew attention to the prospect of creating a joint space Internet system.
"We see how relevant it is, how dangerous it is not to actually own such technology. This task is common," Ionin emphasized.
"Space systems are by definition global, and it is somehow strange and inefficient to create them independently," he said.
According to him, due to the global nature of the BRICS, the association will manage to ensure widespread use of such a system. The expert expressed confidence that this topic will be "raised and resolved" at the 15th BRICS summit, which will be held in South Africa this year.
Technological sovereignty
According to the expert, the BRICS states need a technological alliance to ensure their technological sovereignty, and this is a common task "for Russia, China, India, for all the BRICS countries and even for those countries that now want to join the BRICS and become BRICS+."
However, Ionin believes that BRICS should not strive to create alternative technologies and systems to Western ones.
"We need to create our new BRICS technological tools as working in parallel. If they work in parallel, then we do not force any country in the world to choose, we do not put them before a choice: either with us or against us," he said.
According to the analyst, many countries are not yet ready to make this choice.
"Yes, and you don’t need to force them, but it’s the West that forces them. It clearly draws the line "you are either here or here," and we must differ from them, we offer a more equal world order," Ionin added.
The specialist drew attention to the fact that such an approach makes any unilateral technological sanctions meaningless. "It is simply pointless to introduce them, because any country, any company, immediately switches to a parallel system that is in its hot reserve, which they know how to use, which functions," Ionin pointed out.
"Yes, it is difficult [to implement], we haven't done it yet. But if this is the only way to ensure our technological sovereignty, and to gradually rebuild our existing system without breaking it completely, then we need to learn how to do it," he concluded.