Kingdom of Bahrain

EVENT
“Space as a Driver for Socio-Economic
Sustainable Development”
Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre hosts UN / UAE - High Level Forum
The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre
(MBRSC) has hosted the United Nations/
United Arab Emirates High Level Forum:
“Space as a Driver for Socio-Economic
Sustainable Development”, which was
organized by the United Nations Office
for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)
in conjunction with the United Arab
Emirates Space Agency. Under UNOOSA’s
leadership, the forum delivered concrete
recommendations in the form of the “Dubai
Declaration”, which will contribute to the
United Nations event “UNISPACE+50”, to
be held in Vienna in June 2018 , which will
mark the 50th anniversary of the first United
Nations Conference on the Exploration and
Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.
The Dubai Declaration urges all parties to
further utilize the space sector as a driver
for economic and social development,
emphasizing that strengthening socioeconomic
development will require an
integrated approach among the space
industry and other sectors to understand
Participants of the Forum also declared that space economy,
space society, space accessibility & space diplomacy
constitute the main pillars of the Space2030 – the
global space agenda that will emerge from UNISPACE+50.
and meet the needs of users and the
society at large. The recommendations
emphasize the need for building stronger
international cooperation and coordination
in the peaceful uses of outer space at all
levels, and the need for broadening access
to space. The declaration asserts that
space exploration is a long term driver for
innovation and strengthening international
cooperation on an all-inclusive basis and
creating new opportunities for addressing
global challenges. It also affirmed the
need to strengthen youth and women’s
involvement in the space industry.
Participants of the Forum also declared
that space economy, space society, space
accessibility & space diplomacy constitute
the main pillars of the Space2030 – the
global space agenda that will emerge from
UNISPACE+50.
“This Declaration and what we have
learned at this Forum have provided us
with an understanding of how we should
move forward in utilizing space for
development, on the need to get open
access to space for an increasing number
of countries and in assisting States to attain
the sustainable development goals,” said
Simonetta Di Pippo, Director of UNOOSA.
Ms Di Pippo also thanked MBRSC for their
excellent work in organizing the Forum.
36 January 2017