TEHRAN –The Geological Survey and Mineral Exploration of Iran (GSI) participated in the BRICS roundtable on geology which was held in Moscow, Russia, from July 15 to 17.

It was the first meeting of the heads of the geological organization of the BRICS member states, the GSI website reported.

The event was organized by the Federal Agency for Mineral Resources of the Russian Federation.

Russia, South Africa, China, Ethiopia, and India attended the event in person, while Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Brazil participated virtually.

The roundtable was held on ‘Prospects for BRICS Cooperation in the Study, Development, and Sustainable Use of  Mineral Resources’.

The activities of the national geological services of the BRICS countries were presented as part of the round table program.

The participants discussed prospects for cooperation in the context of the development of the mineral resource base of the BRICS countries, the development of an expert community and capacity building within the harmonization of the national classification system of mineral resources, and present scientific and technical developments in the field of digitalization of geology, BRICS website reported.

Boosting international cooperation and fostering communication between geological organizations as key strategies to tackle upcoming challenges were on the agenda of the meeting.

The participants agreed on bolstering geological cooperation among the BRICS member states since it can have positive impacts on the sustainable management of mineral resources, as well as address the increasing demand for geological exploration and mineral extraction.

Moreover, the members agreed on establishing a joint geological platform for promoting scientific collaborations, sharing expertise and knowledge, as well as building capacity to launch a regular dialogue mechanism of heads of geological organizations of BRICS member countries.

The platform will provide for technological development, exchange of practical experience, and holding joint events, the statement read, adding that the concept implies the creation of the coordination council, joint projects commission, council on technology transfer as well as the working group on the most important minerals and other experts and task groups, Sputnik reported.

According to the report, the platform's meetings will contribute to the development of new ideas and projects for inter-ministerial meetings. Cooperation prospects include interactions in geological exploration, regional geological research and strategic mineral resources, and scientific and technical developments in the digitization of geology.

MT/MG