The BRICS Industrial Competence Centre initiated by Russia in 2020 has been officially inaugurated at the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation headquarters in Vienna.

This is according to a report by Russia’s trade ministry.

The report indicated that the centre will become a tool for systematising and implementing advanced technologies in industrial enterprises of the BRICS’s member states.

The bloc’s member states include Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

Its key tasks will be the exchange of experiences, staff training, development of technological cooperation between the BRICS member states and support for small and medium-sized enterprises.

During the opening ceremony, Aleksey Gruzdev, Russia’s deputy minister of industry and trade, said, “We are ready to share experiences and developments.

“These include, in such currently topical areas as digitalisation of industry, ‘new mobility’ technologies, unmanned transport systems, SME development, and many others.”

Mr Gruzdev stressed that the BRICS Industrial Competence Centre demonstrates the commitment of the BRICS countries to inclusive and sustainable industrial development.

Present at the event were the UNIDO director-general, Gerd Muller, diplomats and representatives of BRICS countries.

The event also featured a working meeting between Messrs Gruzdev and Muller, where the parties discussed the areas of work of the new centre and current issues related to the functioning of the UNIDO office in Moscow.

(TV BRICS/NAN)