WASHINGTON: The Meridian Space Diplomacy Forum, held in the US capital Washington DC, presented the Meridian International Center’s inaugural Global Leadership Award for Space Diplomacy to Yousef Al Otaiba, UAE Ambassador to the United States, in recognition of the UAE’s endeavours and achievements in the space sector.

Alia Al Suwaidi, Deputy Chief of Mission, accepting the award on behalf of Al Otaiba, said, ‘This award recognises the hard work and dedication of everyone at the UAE Space Agency and Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center. From launching the first-ever, made-in-the-UAE satellite, to sending two astronauts to the International Space Station, and becoming the fifth country to reach Mars, we couldn’t have achieved any of this without the US and our other international partners.

During the past decade, the UAE-US relationship in space has developed significantly. The UAE now collaborates with NASA on astronaut training and missions. Most recently, the UAE announced that it would develop the airlock fo
r NASA’s ‘Gateway’ – humanity’s first lunar space station. The country’s partnerships with US research institutions have also supported numerous achievements by the UAE space programme, including the Emirates Mars Mission ‘Hope Probe’ and the upcoming mission to the Asteroid Belt.

During the presentation of the award to Al Suwaidi, Ambassador Stuart Holliday, Meridian International Center Chief Executive Officer, commended the UAE’s achievements in the space sector noting that they are ‘nothing short of remarkable’ given the relative newness of the UAE’s space programme.

The Meridian Space Diplomacy Forum, which was held in conjunction with the State Department’s Space Diplomacy Week, brought together key players in the global space industry – including diplomats, space agency officials and private-sector executives – to explore collaborative strategies and innovative diplomatic approaches in space exploration in an effort to shape responsible behavior in space.

Source: Emirates News Agency