UAE pioneering pan Arab space agency

The UAE's efforts to develop its national space industry can help accelerate the establishment of a pan Arab space agency with the Emirates been seen as a "logical venue", one of the organisers of a Global Space Technology Forum has said.The second Global Space Technology Forum will take place in Abu Dhabi later in 2009 drawing representatives from space agencies and national space programmes, government officials and policy makers.The establishment of an Arab Space Research Agency is seen as essential to combine talent, information and technology between countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and plans have already been submitted to governments across the region.

"With the UAE government already working hard to develop science and technology, the Emirates is seen as the logical venue for the agency's headquarters", Nick Webb, the director of Streamline Marketing Group has said. "Regional governments have been studying plans and more detailed proposals are being formulated. The Middle East, North Africa and Indian Subcontinent as a whole are keen to enter the space age in a big way in order to benefit from the enormous opportunities offered by next generation space research and commercial space applications," he said

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