BRICS Countries Unite to Advance Manufacturing and Innovation

The BRICS Center for Industrial Competencies (BCIC) was launched at a signing ceremony at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) headquarters attended by UNIDO Director General Gerd Müller and representatives from BRICS Plus countries as well as other relevant stakeholders and potential further partners.

Requested and supported by the BRICS Plus countries, which collectively represent more than 40% of the world’s population and more than 35% of global GDP, the BCIC embodies these nations’ shared commitment to combining their efforts and resources to foster inclusive and sustainable industrial development.

Director General Müller stated: “The BRICS Centre for Industrial Competencies that we have launched today is a great new platform to unite the BRICS countries’ national efforts and centres into a larger multilateral network. It will be a platform for knowledge and technology exchange and through it UNIDO will help all partner countries to benefit from Industry 4.0, digitalization and innovation. We will promote new public-private partnerships and help BRICS countries to become even more competitive in global markets.”

The BCIC is a one-stop networking hub for manufacturing companies in BRICS Plus countries, helping them transition into ‘Factories of the Future’, expand internationally, and adopt sustainable practices. Its vision is to become the BRICS-driven technology marketplace for small and medium-sized enterprises, promote market access and business internationalization, and provide scalable solutions which can be adopted throughout BRICS and other partner countries.

Representatives from the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China, whose support and funds mobilization efforts have been key in the establishment of the BCIC, jointly expressed their enthusiasm for deeper cooperation and encouraged the BRICS Plus nations to join the Centre, both to accelerate and to benefit from the Centre’s strategic initiatives.

Alexey Gruzdev, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, emphasized: “Today we officially launched the BRICS Centre for Industrial Competencies. We are open to a constructive dialogue with our foreign partners and ready to share our experience and expertise, including in such topical areas as the digitalization of industry, ‘new mobility’ technologies, unmanned transport systems, human resources development, SME development and many others.”

Xiadiya, Deputy Representative of the Mission of China to UNIDO, highlighted that the successful launch of the Centre marks an achievement under the framework of the BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution (PartNIR). She also stated that China is willing to further strengthen collaboration to build a cooperation network of BRICS industrial capacity centers.

Aleksey Gruzdev, Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce of the Russian Federation and UNIDO Director General Gerd Müller

Aleksey Gruzdev, Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce of the Russian Federation, UNIDO Director General Gerd Müller, Ambassador Rapulane Sydney Molekane of South Africa, and César Augusto Vermiglio Bonamigo, Deputy Permanent Representative of Brazil

César Augusto Vermiglio Bonamigo, Deputy Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations in Vienna stated: “It is a pleasure to be here with other BRICS countries and participate in the launching of the BRICS Centre for Industrial Competences, which will foster cooperation among BRICS countries in different areas, including SMEs, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, bio-industry".  

Ciyong Zou, Deputy to the Director General and Managing Director of the Directorate of Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Industrial Development, affirmed: “The launch of the BCIC, to be hosted by UNIDO, marks a significant step forward. The BRICS Plus, collectively representing more than 40% of the world’s population and more than 35% of global GDP, are shaping inclusive and sustainable industrial development. This initiative offers a unique platform for cross-regional cooperation, knowledge exchange, and technology transfer in these crucial areas.”

Presenting the Centre, Aleksei Savrasov, Industrial Development Officer of the division of Digital Transformations and Artificial Intelligence of UNIDO emphasised that BCIC will work as a network-based entity uniting the national centres of industrial competencies to drive innovation and skills development, support manufacturing companies in adopting advanced manufacturing solutions and expanding within and beyond BRICS. He also added: “We invite the BRICS Plus to join and lead BCIC to connect those who offer practical industrial solutions with those who need them the most across BRICS+”. 

UNIDO stands ready to support BRICS Plus countries in bringing together their existing national centres into a network to achieve maximum impact in their sustainable economic and industrial development by enhancing skills development for Industry 4.0 and innovation ecosystems across the BRICS.