FOREWORD
COLLABORATION AND COOPERATION IS
T
Key
his year marks the 16th anniversary of cooperation among BRICS countries. The five countries have, in spite of the COVID-19 disruptions, carried forward the development momentum of BRICS cooperation and scored new progress in many fields. The BRICS space agency leaders have just signed an agreement on the cooperation on BRICS Remote Sensing Satellite Constellation in August 2021.
This could help deal with the challenges of global climate change, major disasters and environmental protection faced by mankind. The Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) was also successfully launched this year, being the world’s second intergovernmental organisation dedicated to Radio Astronomy and contributing to building an ecosystem of science and technology involving fundamental research, computing, engineering, and skills for the next generation. It is pleasant to witness that the first edition of the BRICS Astronomy Magazine will be released in 2022. I do hope this magazine could be a promising platform that can showcase the activities of the BRICS Astronomy working group. It not only can be of benefit for promoting the cooperation between BRICS member countries in the field of Astronomy, and enabling technologies through joint activities of government, universities, research institutions, and industry. But also it can be of benefit for developing astronomical sciences, generating new knowledge, training human capital, developing new technologies and applications, and improving public understanding of science. Like President Xi Jinping noted during the 13th BRICS Summit, no matter what kind of difficulties we go through, BRICS cooperation will go far ahead on a steady and firm footing as long as we focus our ingenuity and energy on the same goal. BRICS countries should strengthen our cooperation in the spirit of mutual benefits. China looks forward to working with BRICS partners to deepen cooperation in all fields, forge a closer and more pragmatic partnership, address common challenges and create a better future.
Mr Chen Xiaodong
Ambassador of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of South Africa
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BRICS ASTRONOMY MAGAZINE • bricsastronomy.org • June 2022
