ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Friday highlighted the importance of making advancements in space technology, terming it a ‘guarantee’ for economic growth, national security and environmental sustainability.
“Space technology holds a significant place in the government’s agenda for advancing technology, under the leadership of the Prime Minister,” he said.
The minister was speaking at a document exchange ceremony after the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) and the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) signed a cooperation agreement for the spaceflight of a Pakistani astronaut to the Chinese space station.
Referring to this program as a ‘milestone,’ Ahsan Iqbal said that the Pakistan-China friendship, once described as higher than mountains, was now reaching new heights in the skies.
The minister noted that space technology was predicted to become a trillion-dollar industry, with many countries making rapid progress in this field.
Under the URAAN PAKISTAN initiative, he vowed to accelerate national efforts to excel in this sector, as it was closely linked to the future of agriculture, disaster response, urban planning, infrastructure development as well as the country’s security.
He said it was not just a program that would take a Pakistani astronaut into orbit from Earth, but a symbol of the nation’s aspirations “to rise, innovate, explore, and conquer space.” “It will help broaden the imagination and vision of intellectuals and enable them to make innovations, pushing the frontiers of technology forward,” he remarked.
