At the 7th BRICS Science, Technology, and Innovation Ministerial Meeting held in Campinas, Brazil, in September 2019, member countries adopted the concept of the New BRICS Science, Technology, and Innovation Architecture. According to the BRICS 2025 STI Issues Note, this architecture encompasses four pillars of collaboration, including annual ministerial meetings, senior officials meetings, a steering committee, and 13 thematic working groups.
Brazil’s presidency in 2019 had identified strengthening STI cooperation as a core priority. The Campinas meeting also advanced the BRICS Working Group on Science, Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Partnership (STIEP), which launched initiatives such as the iBRICS Network for innovation environments and technology parks. The BRICS STI Framework Programme, operational since 2016, had by this point conducted multiple calls for multilateral research projects across member countries.
While quantum technologies were not yet an explicit priority area, the restructured governance framework created the institutional channels through which quantum cooperation would be formally introduced in subsequent years.