Following a meeting between the South African Embassy to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and Mission to the European Union and the Luxembourg Space Agency (LSA), an Industry day involving the South African National Space Agency (SANSA) and LSA was held on September 15, 2021 in the form of a webinar. The meeting aimed at exchanging information on each party’s national strategy for the development of their respective ecosystems as well as presenting key commercial and scientific actors of both countries, in order to foster further cooperation in the space sector.
Leaders and senior officials from the Embassy, SANSA, LSA and the Space Industry attended the workshop. Key attendees included Counsellor Political, Ms Sewela Nkgapele and Marketing Officer, Mr Julian van Hille, South African Embassy to Belgium and Luxembourg; Dr. Valanathan Munsami, CEO of SANSA and Ms Asanda Sangoni, Space and Stakeholder Liaison Specialist of SANSA; Dr. Marc Serres, CEO of LSA, and Dr. Patricia Conti, Director at LSA.
The webinar kicked off with both CEOs sharing their views on space development. They presented overviews of their policies and projects, along with their planned commercial, scientific and technical developments. More than 20 organizations were then able to present their activities, future development plans, and interests for cooperation to an audience gathering up to 70 participants.
The workshop demonstrated the interest for ongoing discussions between the two ecosystems, and confirmed once again the importance of international cooperation in the space sector in general.
