DUBAI, The UAE and Serbia have met to expand cooperation on space and encourage the use of satellite data for a wide range of purposes from monitoring climate change to creating new business and commercialization opportunities.
Sarah bint Yousif Al Amiri, UAE Minister of State for Advanced Technology and Chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency, held a meeting with Dr Nenad Popovic, Minister for Innovation and Technological Development. They were joined by a number of high-ranking officials from both sides during the Dubai Airshow 2021, running from 14-18 November.
The two ministers spoke about collaboration and cooperation at the educational and research institute level. They also touched upon the increasing focus on efforts to combat climate change through space technology and application, in alignment with UAE’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. Similarly, the Serbian intents and directions towards diversifying energy sources and investing in clean energy were expressed during the discussions.
The meeting also provided an opportunity for the UAE Space Agency to highlight its new strategy to encourage the sustainable development of a competitive domestic space industry. It includes attracting and retaining talent, increasing the productivity of research and development in the space sector while transferring knowledge to other industries. Prioritizing food security and agri-tech research and development endeavors were also touched upon among other fourth industrial revolution technology developments such as smart manufacturing and robotics.
They also discussed Emirates Mars Mission’s latest progress. The Hope Probe is currently orbiting Mars, collecting invaluable data, capturing breakthrough observations and providing new insights about the Red Planet’s atmosphere. More than 110GB of scientific data has also been shared and Sarah Al Amiri invited Serbia and relevant researchers and scientific research institutes to make the most of the data.
Source: Emirates News Agency