Official reports have revealed that higher directives approved assigning the Saudi Space Commission (SSC) as the authority overseeing the implementation of a space cooperation MoU signed by the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) and Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
Last month SSC Chairman Prince Sultan bin Salman held a video-conference meeting with ISRO Director Kailasavadivoo Sivan. The two discussed expanding bilateral cooperation between the Kingdom and India in the field of space.
They also reviewed the future Saudi-Indian partnership in research, science, expert training, technology, and cooperation in space exploration missions.
This revision falls within the framework of an MoU inked between the two space agencies earlier.
In other news, the SSC signed an MoU for building Saudi Arabia’s space industry capacities with the Local Content and Government Procurement Authority (LCGPA). This is part of the bold, yet achievable, goals included in the Kingdom’s national transformation plan, Vision 2030.
Both LCGPA CEO Abdulrahman Al Samari and SSC’s CEO Abdulaziz Al Al-Sheikh signed the MoU, which chiefly looks to boost inter-agency cooperation on developing local content across the value chain present in the Kingdom’s promising space sector.
The MoU also seeks to promote government procurement work at the SSC.
Moreover, the agreement falls within the scope of the partnership and integration approach among government agencies.
According to Prince Sultan, the MoU will fulfill King Salman’s directives for establishing an integrated space industry.
“The signing of the agreement follows the policy of partnership and integration between government agencies to enable the space sector to fulfill the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on establishing an integrated industry linked to space, which has promising economic contributions,” he said.
Characterized by sustainable growth, the space sector opens doors wide in terms of research and innovation opportunities to be led by local capabilities determined on maturing this industry.
It is noteworthy that the space sector's development will scale up the Kingdom’s position regionally and globally.
