RIYADH: G20 space agency leaders have discussed the role their sector can have on the economic development of modern societies
The first-of-its-kind meeting organized by the Saudi Space Commission and the G20 Saudi Secretariat wrapped up on Thursday.
In their final communique, participants hailed the meeting as a success and stressed the important role played by everyone taking part, including the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
“The meeting shed light on the far-reaching economic dimensions available in the space sector and its contribution to supporting policies that encourage economic stability,” the organizers said.
The experts agreed that “the use of satellite technology in navigation, communications, meteorology, and Earth observation will influence the emergence of applications and programs that contribute to air traffic control, transportation, and natural resource and agriculture management, and reduce unintended side effects of pandemics and epidemics.”They also explored the increasing influence of the space sector in shaping modern communities and the changing pattern of their economic development, according to the communique — with a particular focus on how the use of satellite technology in navigation, telecommunications, and meteorology effects air-traffic control, agriculture, the management of natural resources, and combatting climate change.
Participants thanked the Saudi Space Commission and its chairman Prince Sultan bin Salman for the meeting.
Participants voiced their support for the goals of the UN’s “Space2030” agenda and related international agreements. They said they are looking forward to the next G20 Space Agency Leaders’ meetings and welcomed the Italian Space Agency’s offer to host the second meeting in 2021 and the Indian Space Research Organization’s offer to host the third meeting in 2022.
