Luanda – Angola is committed to working for the development of the African space program and the telecommunication infrastructures to support the economic growth of the continent, the Minister of Telecommunications, Information Technology and Social Communication, Mário Oliveira, said Friday.
Speaking at the closing of the 3rd edition of the African Space Conference held in Luanda, the minister said Angola is drawing the bases to reach this goal and for that a set of joint works are needed to achieve the desired objectives.
The minister explained that the experience gained over the four days of the conference was extremely important for Angolans involved in the telecommunications ecosystem, which will serve to work on the country's socio-economic development.
"To go as far as possible we have to work together, in collaboration or partnership with all operators and governments, and Angola is committed to working with everyone to develop our national space program," the minister said.
As regards to the level of participation, Mário Oliveira considered it to be a strong sign of academia's commitment to the development of the space program, underlining that he was pleased that the event achieved its objectives and that Angola became an important space hub for training staff during the event.
According to the minister, with the satisfactory results achieved, the country will work to get closer to the international space industry, with a view to implementing the African space program.
The minister said that, as Angola is leading a technical working group to build a shared satellite in the Southern African Region, the country is committed to increasingly asserting itself in matters related to this sector.
Mario Oliveira added that the fact that the country hosted the conference for the first time meant that the country is beginning to be seen on the continent as an important pillar for the space industry and program.
The minister reiterated that the Angolan government is working with some international partners to transform GGPEN into a space agency, and is drawing up the terms of reference to give time for the creation of the African Special Agency.
The 3rd edition of NewSpace Africa is the continent's largest space event organized by Space in Africa, in partnership with the African Union and Angola’s National Space Program Management Office (GGPEN), bringing together decision-makers, government representatives, academics and African space industry technicians in an environment seeking to analyze the role of space in reducing the poverty gap.
The event brings together representatives from 54 countries and from space agencies such as NASA (United States), ESA (Europe), SANSA (South Africa) and KSA (Kenya), as well as Russia and China.
HM/QCB/MRA/AMP
