The event is under the patronage of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and has attracted attendance of 300 decision makers and representatives from global space agencies and institutions.
The first edition of the Abu Dhabi Space Debate (ADSD) kicked off in Abu Dhabi, organised by the UAE Space Agency, along with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and the Ministry of Defence.
Led by Union space minister Jitendra Singh, an Indian delegation is expected to participate in the two-day Debate.
The event is under the patronage of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and has attracted attendance of 300 decision makers and representatives from global space agencies and institutions.
As has been reported earlier by Financial Express Online, the main topics including Space Security, Sustainability and Accessibility will be discussed at the conference which forms a critically important global forum for the space industry, countries, policy makers among others. And they are expected to forge consensus and address issues which are related to space innovation in space.
India at the Debate
The minister is also scheduled to attend the ministerial plenary which is focussed on the role of foreign policy in space diplomacy and international cooperation. At the ministerial the UAE MoS foreign affairs, Bahrain foreign minister and Israel minister of advanced technologies will also be present.
He will also hold delegation level talks with the UAE Minister of state for advanced technology and chairperson of the UAE Space Agency Ms with Sarah Al Amiri. How the two countries can work together in the Space Sector as well as Science and Technology to further relations will be on the table for talks.
In a statement issued before departing for Abu Dhabi on Sunday, the minister said that the joint cooperation between India and the UAE in the space sector is all set to take a giant leap in the Arabian Peninsula and both countries are keen to further deepen cooperation in the space sector.
During talks with his counterpart of UAE, Singh is expected to talk about joint ventures with the start-ups in advanced and emerging space technologies, as this would give another dimension to strengthening bilateral relations.
India-UAE
Both countries have elevated their ties to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2017 and as reported earlier the two countries have further cemented their relations when they signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement which will help in taking the present bilateral trade between the two sides from US$ 72 billion to US$ 100 billion over the next five years.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and UAE Space Agency in 2016 had inked a MoU about cooperation in space exploration and use of outer space for useful purposes.
In the same year ISRO launched PSLV UAE’s first nanosatellite — ‘Nayif-1’ – which was for gathering environmental space data from Sriharikota.
UAE’s young space agency
In the coming years UAE Space Agency is expected to play a very important role in the Space sector in the Gulf region and has been making big strides. In July 2020, the Gulf country had launched its Mars mission Hope Probe and entered the Mars Orbit in 2021 in the month of February.
Soon the country has plans to launch `Rashid Rover ‘or the Emirates Lunar Mission. This is attached to a Japanese lander integrated onto a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for launch. The launch which was scheduled to take place last month has been shifted to a later date by SpaceX for further inspections. And in case there are no major technical setbacks, the mission to the moon is expected to land next year in April.
In 2019, Hanzala Al Mansoori became the first Emirati to go to space. He spent eight days in the International Space Station (ISS) and went onboard a Russian space vehicle from Kazakhstan and earlier this year another astronaut was selected to travel to the ISS on Nasa’s crew rotation flight — SpaceX Crew-6 to stay there for six months.
https://www.financialexpress.com/lifestyle/science/india-to-pitch-ventures-with-space-start-ups-at-the-abu-dhabi-space-debate/2901048/
