Extracted Data Points

  • The Indian National Science Academy (INSA) convened the first meeting of the BRICS Science Academies Forum 2026 as part of India's BRICS Presidency 2026
  • Theme: "Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Development and Strengthening Global South Cooperation"
  • Participating nations: Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Russia, South Africa, Belarus, Nigeria, and Vietnam (10 nations total)
  • Meeting was moderated by Prof. Debashis Mitra, Vice President (International), INSA
  • India's BRICS Presidency 2026 theme: "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability"
  • Key outcomes: Draft declaration on AI for Science and Sustainable Development reviewed and strengthened
  • Consensus reached on: shared computing infrastructure, collaborative data platforms, and multilingual AI models
  • Calls for: joint task forces, researcher mobility schemes, and open-source scientific infrastructure
  • Second onsite meeting scheduled for July 22-23, 2026 at IIT Hyderabad
  • Prof. Ambuj Sagar, Founding Head, School of Public Policy, IIT Delhi presented the draft declaration
  • Declaration addresses unequal distribution of AI capacity and digital divide between developed and developing nations
  • China (Chinese Academy of Sciences) recommendations: collaborative AI readiness benchmarks, scientific data-sharing frameworks, open-source infrastructure, responsible AI evaluation mechanisms
  • Egypt (ASRT) recommendations: AI applications for food security, healthcare, education, energy, climate change; greater investments in research and capacity building
  • Indonesia recommendations: AI for disaster risk management, climate mitigation, early warning systems, greenhouse gas reduction, sustainable agriculture
  • Ethiopia recommendations: cooperation on cybersecurity, digital safety, combating cross-border cybercrime; higher education and research partnerships
  • Vietnam recommendations: joint task forces, thematic working groups, shared digital public infrastructure, joint training programs
  • Nigeria recommendations: AI applications for scientific innovation, governance, and national development priorities
  • South Africa recommendations: AI for future generations, concerns about costs and social sciences dimensions, endorsement of open-source AI model
  • Belarus recommendations: responsible AI use with emphasis on healthcare innovation, data security, advanced cybersecurity measures
  • Cross-cutting consensus themes identified by Prof. Anurag Agrawal: shared computing infrastructure; open data ecosystems; technology sovereignty; energy-efficient data centres; human resource development; multilingual AI resources
  • CSIR–NIScPR (scientific and technological information policy research institute of CSIR) participated in deliberations