The Abu Dhabi Space Dialogue will start next month

Hala Al Khayyat, Amna Al Ketbi (Abu Dhabi)

Her Excellency Sarah bint Youssef Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Emirates Space Agency, and Chairperson of the Higher Committee of the Abu Dhabi Space Dialogue, announced that the Abu Dhabi Space Dialogue will focus on the importance of sustaining the arrival of spacecraft to low Earth orbit, which provides countries with important services in Everyday life, explaining that effective policies to preserve these orbits, the sustainability of countries and companies’ exploitation of this orbit, and dealing with the challenges it suffers from will be addressed.

This came during a press conference held yesterday in Abu Dhabi to announce the details of the capital’s hosting of the first edition of the Abu Dhabi Space Dialogue, which is being held under the generous patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, may God protect him, on the 5th and 6th of next December, with international participation. High-ranking leaders of countries active in the field of space, elite experts, and the most influential figures in the sector around the world.

Her Excellency pointed out the importance of the space sector, especially that it is involved in many fields, including data on climate change on the planet, and changes in it are studied through satellites scattered around the planet, and all of these satellites in low orbit have direct economic benefits from By developing the economy or by taking advantage of the data that comes from these satellites.
Also, all the new satellites that support digital communication networks are all present in this orbit, which makes the low orbit one of the busiest orbits around the planet, and is considered one of the important orbits in terms of our daily use of space technology.

Her Excellency added that the UAE, under the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, may God protect him, and the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, may God protect him, adopts space science as an essential pillar to continue Development and development processes, and the creation of new future opportunities to improve people’s lives, noting that the UAE’s achievements and projects in the science and space sector have established the world’s confidence in the UAE and its capabilities to benefit the global scientific community.

Her Excellency added, “The first edition of the Abu Dhabi Space Dialogue is witnessing a high-level presence of the leaders of the countries active in the field of space, led by His Excellency Isaac Herzog, President of the State of Israel, and the State of Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of the Republic of India, who will deliver a keynote speech remotely,” indicating that the UAE It has come a long way in the space sector, and has become one of the first countries in the region to adopt its sciences and achieve qualitative achievements in it.

And she added that the UAE leads the region in the space sector towards a diversified knowledge-based economy, and it owns 19 orbital satellites, and more than 10 new space objects under development, and we have in the UAE more than 50 international and emerging companies, institutions and space facilities, and there are more than 3000 workers. And an engineer and expert working in the sector, in addition to 5 research centers for space sciences, and 3 universities to train national cadres, and the UAE is the fifth country in the world to succeed in reaching the orbit of Mars for the first time, after the “Probe of Hope” within the Emirates Mars Exploration Project managed to reach the Red Planet. in February 2021.

Her Excellency Sarah Al Amiri indicated that the Abu Dhabi Space Dialogue is the first event of its kind in the world, and it is an opportunity for all countries, institutions, companies and individuals to develop partnerships and cooperation in the field of space science, explaining that it represents a platform that brings together leaders and policy makers in the field of space to discuss and review 3 main topics, namely sustainability. space, ensuring access to it and enhancing its security through more than 35 discussion sessions, ministerial dialogue, workshops and keynote speeches. 35 space agencies from the UAE, Colombia, the Philippines, Italy, Romania, Singapore, Rwanda, Poland, Norway, France and other countries participate in it, in addition to the European Space Agency.

Her Excellency said that 77 companies from the private sector will participate in the event, including: “Geopolitical Futures”, “Northrop Grumman”, “Redwire Space”, “Airbus Defense and Space”, “Amazon Web Services” and “Private Space”, in addition to The participation of a number of thought leaders in various fields and industries of space.

Goals
Her Excellency Sarah Al Amiri confirmed that the main objectives that the Abu Dhabi Space Dialogue will focus on, which is to make the Abu Dhabi Space Dialogue a global platform in which joint efforts between all sectors concerned with space meet, unify visions and ideas, review the most important challenges that we all share, come up with a common and unified vision, and continue Space Sector Developing development projects and stimulating support for governmental and private space programs to cross into the future and reflect positively on the world and humanity.
Her Excellency added, “The objectives of the dialogue revolve around discussing global needs for strategic capabilities, services, infrastructure, laws and basic resources, and providing a global platform for emerging and major countries in the space sector to display their achievements and development side by side, and to provide new visions for space management and development.”

Space debris is one of the main topics
In response to Al-Ittihad’s question, His Excellency Al-Amiri explained that one of the main axes of the Abu Dhabi Space Dialogue will focus on space debris and space waste, noting that during the next ten years, all countries that have investments in the space sector will be required to deal with space waste and develop a radical solution. This problem, and the emphasis on non-politicization of relations in the space sector, and consideration of how to increase the service of the space sector to different sectors. She stressed the importance of the Abu Dhabi Space Dialogue in creating an open platform for discussions between the parties concerned with the space sector from the governmental and private sectors and international organizations concerned with this sector, indicating that the field of outer space exploration is a field in which many technologies are involved, and the importance of the dialogue enables participation and exchange of knowledge and work mechanisms between different projects. and the sustainability of research projects, whether in the moon or on the surface and around other planets, and how to complement knowledge exchange between space agencies around the world. She stressed that the UAE has several projects in the field of space, and investment is being made in them and the capabilities of the private sector are developed, as the number of private companies operating in the space sector is estimated at 50 companies, stressing the importance of increasing knowledge and building capabilities in the field of the space sector, pointing to the importance of working to harmonize Legislation and the regulatory environment for the space sector in the country with the international legislative environment and its presence as a catalyst and engine for investments in the space sector.

In turn, Omran Sharaf, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for Advanced Science and Technology Affairs, Chairman of the United Nations Committee for the Peaceful Use of Outer Space (Cobos), member of the Higher Committee for the Abu Dhabi Space Dialogue, said: “The UAE is a major supporter of industries related to space science, as it has established its global position Among the most important active countries in the Space Club through the achievements it has made in this field, and it is keen to enhance international cooperation in the exploration and peaceful use of outer space.

He added that the UAE plays an influential role in shaping space policy in the world, as the country’s foreign policy has succeeded in activating its role in important international forums at the global level, and it firmly believes in the importance of global and equal access to outer space for all countries and international cooperation in developing space activities. He pointed out that the Abu Dhabi Space Dialogue will consolidate the efforts of space diplomacy and science globally, encourage fair and peaceful access to space for all countries, and will contribute to strengthening compliance with international legal frameworks and United Nations treaties that govern the safety and sustainability of outer space among member states.

He explained that the UAE’s hosting of this global event confirms its vital role in leading development in vital sectors, by attracting experts and decision-makers in the field of space, noting that «the Abu Dhabi Space Dialogue will contribute to creating a common vision for the future of space by contributing to the formulation of international policies to find innovative solutions. to global challenges in the field.
Sharaf continued, “The Abu Dhabi Space Dialogue will shed light on the impact of space on the geopolitical situation, strengthening international law to benefit from the sector, the impact of the return of the space race on the work of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, and how to control and prevent the arms race in space.” Space, achieving a balance between the fair use of economically and strategically important space assets and securing the necessary protection for them, in conjunction with the transformation of strategic capabilities into economic opportunities. The event will also host a ministerial dialogue on space in national science and technology programs and high-level bilateral meetings to discuss opportunities for bilateral cooperation between countries. ».

Discussions
Omran Sharaf stressed that the UAE deals with the space sector through knowledge, building human expertise and capabilities, and developing technology to raise the quality of human life, indicating that the country is economically challenging the countries of the world with advanced smart products that serve humanity, by benefiting from the information and data that it obtains from investment. in the space sector.
He said that the discussions in the Abu Dhabi Space Dialogue will focus on how to preserve space, achieve economic and political interests, bring points of view closer, and achieve social and economic benefits.