The UAE Space Agency has adopted a new resolution during the 50th anniversary of the first United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. The resolution’s key focus is on space as a driver of sustainable development across the globe.
The resolution emphasizes the fact that for the past 50 years, the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, supported by the Office for Outer Space Affairs, has provided unique platforms to promote international cooperation in space activities at all levels. This has been done with the aim of fostering dialogue among spacefaring and emerging space nations, to increase capacity-building efforts for developing countries, and to continue to shape the global governance of outer space activities to benefit people and the planet.
It highlights that the fulfilment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the commitments by States parties to the Paris Agreement all require stronger coordination and support at international levels. This includes having improved access to space-based data, applications and space infrastructure.
Commenting on the new resolution, H.E. Dr. Ahmad Bin Abdullah Humaid Belhoul Al Falasi, UAE Minister of State for Higher Education and Advanced Skills and Chairman of the UAE Space Agency said: “This strategic resolution recognizes the importance of capacity-building, education and training for space science and technology. It’s critical that, with the support of the United Nations, member states work together to enhance capabilities and overall capacity across these areas. Space science and technology and their applications will continue to have a significant role in achieving the goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which is of great importance for humanity and the planet. The UAE Space Agency is honored to be part of this long-term strategy and fully supports the objectives of the new resolution.”
During the High Level Summit, H.E. Dr. Al Falasi gave a Ministerial statement in which he said: “International and regional cooperation continues to be a major commitment of ours. We have signed agreements with many of the world’s leading space agencies and exchange knowledge continuously. For our region, we have been working with Arab space industry leaders from across the Middle East to increase collaboration and help develop national space capabilities as well as research and science facilities.”
Audiences at the UNISPACE +50 Conference in Vienna heard this week how the UAE Space Agency is contributing to the realization of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, from using satellites to tackle the challenges posed by climate change to facilitating research on water and food scarcity.
The UNISPACE +50 sessions bring together policy-makers, business leaders and academic experts from the global space sector to discuss areas for collaboration, including developing and adopting resolutions that will guide policies and joint action frameworks for years to come.