UAE Space Agency signs MoU with Philippines counterpart to enhance cooperation

The UAE Space Agency has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Philippine Space Agency (PhiSA) to enhance cooperation in scientific research, space exploration and knowledge exchange.

The MoU was signed on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi Space Debate by Salem Butti Salem Al Qubaisi, director general of the Space Agency, and Joel Joseph S. Marciano Jr., director general of the Philippine Space Agency.

This partnership comes as part of the UAE Space Agency’s goals to strengthen cooperation with international partners in space science and peaceful exploration of the outer space. It also aims at accelerating the development of space technologies and sciences in the UAE, official news agency WAM reported.

Under the agreement, the two agencies will strengthen bilateral cooperation in priority space fields, including exploration, scientific and technological research, aerospace, education, and others.

The MoU enables exchange of space data to support various fields of common interest such as climate change, disaster management, emergency response, food security and agriculture. The two agencies will participate together in scientific missions aimed at space exploration and access to relevant data, as well as to hold joint conferences, workshops and knowledge-sharing activities on space science and technology applications.

The UAE Space Agency and the Philippine Space Agency will also be collaborating to support space education, through student and graduate exchange programmes, the statement added.

“The UAE Space Agency is committed to constructive international partnerships with various agencies to exchange experiences, which reflects positively on the development of the space sector in the country, through developing qualified talents and human resources that can consolidate the sustainability of the sector,” said Salem Al Qubaisi.

In 2020, the UAE Space Agency signed onto NASA’s Artemis Accords. Signatories to the Accords agreed to conduct all activities for peaceful purposes, and to publicly and transparently describe their policies and plans.

Read: UAE Space Agency signs NASA’s Artemis Accords for cooperation in space exploration