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Officials at the signing ceremony

UAE, Japan sign contracts to collaborate on space initiatives

UAE, March 23, 2016

The UAE, represented by the UAE Space Agency and the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, signed a memoranda of understanding (MoU) and a contract with Japanese institutions, to launch the “Hope Probe” to outer space.

Through the signing of the MoU and contract, the institutions hope to strengthen cooperation in the field of exploration and development of human resources specialised in space science and technology, said a statement.

The signing took place in a ceremony held at the in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and was attended by Kanji Fujiki, ambassador of Japan to the UAE; in the presence of Dr Khalifa Al Romaithi, chairman of the UAE Space Agency; and Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, chairman of the board of directors at Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC).

The ceremony was attended by Dr Mohammed Al Ahbabi, director general of the UAE Space Agency; Yousuf Al Shaibani, director general of MBRSC; Khaled Al Hashmi, director of Space Mission Management; Sheikha Al Maskari, chief innovation officer at the UAE Space Agency; Engineer Salem Humaid Al Marri, assistant general manager for Scientific and Technical Affairs at MBRSC and a number of senior officials from the UAE space sector.

The Japanese delegation included representatives of the Office of National Space Policy of Cabinet Office, the University of Tokyo, the Japanese Embassy in the UAE, and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

During the ceremony, the UAE Space Agency signed a MoU with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, which covers various aspects of cooperation in space exploration and the peaceful exploitation of outer space, the development of scientific and experiential satellites, remote sensing, communications and cooperation in the exchange of information, research and scientific studies and data, as well as holding mutual lectures and research conferences, said the statement.

The MoU was signed by Dr Khalifa Al Romaithi, chairman of the UAE Space Agency from the UAE side, and Dr Naoki Okumura, President of JAXA, from the Japanese side, it added.

MBRSC signed a contract with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) to launch the Hope Probe to explore Mars. The probe will be launched aboard H-IIA rocket in 2020.  The contract was signed by Al Mansoori and Hisakazu Mizutani, executive vice president at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, it said.

UAE and Japan confirmed their intentions to promote a broad range of cooperation in space sector on the basis of mutual benefit and reciprocity, further added the statement.

UAE Space Agency’s Al Romaithi said: "The signing comes within the context of the strategic targets of our agency, in terms of building and developing mutually beneficial partnerships with various international institutions that carry long experience in the space sector in general, and the development of human resources in this field in particular.”

“Japan has a long history of space science and technology and has accumulated abundant knowledge and experience, an experience that the UAE is interested in exploiting in what offers benefits to the local space sector, and enhances economic diversity in the country,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service




Tags: | UAE | Japan | Space |

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