Kazakhstan and the UAE to strengthen the space industry cooperation

NUR-SULTAN, August 22, 2019 — Foreign Minister Beibut Atamkulov received the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Kazakhstan, Mohamed Al Jaber.

The parties discussed a wide range of issues concerning the state and prospects of bilateral political, economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation, as well as current matters of the regional and international agenda.

 “The Republic of Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates share traditionally friendly relations, which in recent years have received a significant positive impetus. We intend to continue actively enhancing mutually beneficial relations in all spheres, to compare our positions on current issues of the international agenda, and to cooperate in strengthening the legal foundations of bilateral relations between Kazakhstan and the UAE”, the Foreign Minister said.

During the meeting, the Ambassador extended to the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev an invitation by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan to visit the UAE.

The special subject of the discussions was the preparation for the upcoming 7th Session of the Kazakhstan-UAE Intergovernmental Commission on September 8-9 in Abu Dhabi, which will be co-chaired by the heads of the foreign affairs agencies of both countries. The parties agreed that this commission is the main mechanism for enhancing bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

In addition, joint cooperation in space exploration offers great opportunities. In this regard, the parties highlighted the importance of the space rocket complex creation project at the Baikonur Cosmodrome by modernizing the “Soyuz” launch pad at the Baikonur Site 1 (Gagarin’s Start) and the “Soyuz-2” medium capacity launcher, which is in demand in the global launch services market. Russia is also a partner of this project alongside Kazakhstan and the Emirates.

The Emirates expressed gratitude to Kazakhstan for its support and cooperation in the UAE space industry development. The Ambassador also said that the first Emirati astronaut, Hazza Al Mansouri, is scheduled to go into space from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on September 25, and the Minister of State for Higher Education, Chairman of the UAE Space Agency, Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, is expected to attend this launch.