Russia and South Africa continue to develop space cooperation even after the opening of a Russian space debris monitoring complex in South Africa, Russian Ambassador to South Africa Roman Ambarov told Sputnik in an interview.
“Space cooperation between Russia and South Africa is developing both bilaterally and on international platforms, primarily BRICS,” Ambarov said. Ambarov added that in July 2023, Russia opened an optical-electronic complex for monitoring space debris in the South African area of Hartbeeshoek.
That is why it was no coincidence that South Africa was one of the first BRICS members to support Russia’s initiative to create a BRICS Space Council, the ambassador said. BRICS members consistently advocate for the exclusively peaceful use of outer space and the prevention of its weaponization.
For instance, final declarations of the 17th BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro and the 16th in Kazan supported the Russian-Chinese Draft Treaty on Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space (PPWT), as well as initiative on prevention of an arms race in outer space (PAROS). Creating the BRICS Space Council was also highlighted in the final declaration.
