Italy and Egypt will boost their space science and technology cooperation between universities, research institutes and businesses with the aim of forging long-term investment and partnerships, the industry ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Italian Space Agency (ASI)'s president Teocoro Valente and Egypt's Space Agency (EgSA)'s chief executive Mohamed Sedky signed a cooperation MoU in Cairo the presence of Italy's industry minister Adolfo, according to the statement.
"Today's accord is strategic for the development of innovative technologies which are penetrating more and more industrial sectors," said Urso.
Together with ASI and EgSA, investments by space sector industries could foster the development "of projects and initiatives of common interest at the Mediterranean level, in Africa and internationally," the statement said.
"The agreement signed today represents a bridge between Europe and Africa, a corridor between Italy and Egypt in the space fied," said Valente.
Tuesday's MoU confirms Italy's commitment to building "privileged relations with African countries involved in the sector, in line with schemes being rolled out by the Italian government within its 'Mattei' plan (to boost Africa's stability and prosperity)," Valente noted.
Egypt is among African countries which are "consolidating" their space policy, said the statement. The creation of the EgSA in 2019 shows the Egyptian government's expanding interest in the sector which for years focused mainly on science and remote sensing activities, according to the statement.
Earth Observation in particular and Remote Sensing, space applications, capacity building projects and specialised training initiatives are possible areas for new collaboration between Italy and Egypt, the statement noted.
Earth Observation, involving monitoring of the variables affecting climate change and its social and economic impact is potentially a key area for collaboration and joint projects which could also exploit the "specific expertise" of Italian companies, the statement concluded.
