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17-05-2023 10:47

Address by the Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, Mr Philippos Hadjizacharias at ARGONAFTIS 2023 Exercise

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am delighted to be joining you today, on this very important exercise and I would like to thank JRCC for the invitation and to give a warm welcome to our guests from abroad.

The Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy is the responsible authority for formulating and implementing the national space strategy and for the active participation of Cyprus in the European Union and in the ESA space programmes. 

Space technologies are of strategic importance for economic growth, social prosperity and cohesion, for the protection of the environment, and for the enhancement of public security and civil defense.

Bearing in mind the above, the Government of the Republic of Cyprus has confirmed its political will and commitment for the development of the space technology sector in Cyprus and it promotes space technologies as a high priority in the political agenda of Cyprus.

In this framework, we granted eight (8) authorizations for space orbits resulting in three (3) satellites in operation and we secured the deployment of two (2) ground stations (called RIMS) in Cyprus for the operation of the EU EGNOS System used to improve the performance of global navigation for aviation, maritime and land-based users.

In addition, a Center of Excellence with its main activities being  the observation of the earth from infrastructure located in space is planning the deployment of a ground station in Cyprus within the next year to receive real time data from the EU Copernicus space programme.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Space Technologies and Satellite services play a crucial role in crisis and disaster risk management by providing timely and accurate information to support emergency response efforts and by providing help to save lives, reduce damage, and speed up recovery efforts.

In particular, today for the Search and Rescue Exercise Scenario, a receiving earth station (called MEOLUT) which was deployed in Cyprus as part of the Search and Rescue service of the EU Galileo System, will be used for detecting and locating emergency beacons located in the sea. It is worth mentioning that Cyprus is one of the only three hosting countries of such infrastructure in Europe.

Thank you 

(MH)