United Arab Emirates Strengthen Space Technology Projects, Sign Memorandum with UK

Space exploration has proven to be an important measurement of the economic stability of a country. Naturally, the stable and fund-rich countries are the ones expected to invest in space technology like Germany, Russia, China and Japan. With the success rate of recent space projects, it has appealed more to countries worldwide, like the United Arab Emirates who just signed a "Memorandum of Understanding" (MoU) with the UK.

In a report by Gov.uk, it is stated that Dr David Parker, Space Agency Chief Executive and H.E Dr Khalifa Al Romaithi, Chairman of the UAE Space Agency signed a MoU which paves the way for an extensive cooperation between the two power giants when it comes to the space activities and technology.

David Parker, of the UK Space Agency, said "We are extremely proud of this memorandum. This collaboration in the space field is a sign of the strong desire of our two countries to work together, and confirms the commitment of the UK to become a partner of the UAE Space Agency."

According to the official memorandum, it says that the partnership was based on their mutual goal "considering their common interest in their use and application of Space for peaceful purposes"

With the memorandum, there would be free exchange of information between UK and UEA and the exchange of personnel to share their findings, knowledge, manpower and skill towards their common goal.

Although the funding for both parties remains independent from each other, both parties are expected to collaborate in "space science, technology and applications, exchange view of space laws and policies and human capital development in space field".

H.E Dr. Mohammed Al Ahbabi, Director General of the UAE Space Agency said in an interview that "The UAE Space Agency recognizes the importance of space exploration in the greater context of advancing humanities legacy. We are firm believers in working together with all competent entities in the field of space towards the common goal of fostering the well-being of humankind."

In 2015, the Arabian Aerospace said that the UK and the UAE also had a partnership in terms of space science Deimos Space UK and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) in the UAE" to develop mapping applications that uses the DubaiSat-2 and Deimos-2 satellite data.

UK and UAE are known allies who have partnered in various fields including education and business.