Astronaut Hazza Ali Al AlMansoori from United Arab Emirates.

The UAE has announced details of its National Space Strategy 2030, alongside a National Space Investment Plan, in a bid to target the $600bn space industry.

The global space sector has grown by 9.6 per cent a year over the past decade and the strategy and investment plans aim to capitalise on this growth by developing the industry in the UAE, creating a hub for space technology in the Arab world, creating white-collar jobs, attracting foreign direct investment and providing opportunities for local start-up and entrepreneurs.

“The investment plan seeks to increase the national space sector’s contribution to economic diversification and attract foreign investment in the national space sector. Moreover, it aims to transform the UAE into the go-to destination for investors wishing to participate in the space sector,” said Mohamed Nasser al-Ahbabi, director-general of the UAE Space Agency at a briefing in Abu Dhabi on 15 October.

Space is a growing area of interest for the UAE authorities and the Space Agency briefing followed the return to Earth on 3 October of the UAE’s first astronaut Hazza AlMansoori. There have also been media reports from Moscow that Russia may be considering launching space missions from the UAE in the future.

The investment plan features a range of measures aimed at developing the sector in the UAE. “Through the Space Investment Plan, the UAE Space Agency is working to devise the activities, mechanisms and tools necessary to stimulate entrepreneurship and attract more local and international investment to the space sector,” said Nasser al-Rashidi, director of space policy and regulations at the UAE Space Agency.

“In the next stage, the agency will supervise the implementation of eight activities identified by the plan through coordination, collaborations, and partnerships with key players in the space industry on a local and international level, including those in the government, private, academic, or research and development sectors, as investments in these sectors complement one another,” he added.

The UAE has a long term goal of establishing a settlement on the planet Mars by the year 2117. The final stage of the project will see the establishment of the first “inhabitable” human settlement on the planet.

MEED
This article is sourced from Aerospace Technology sister publication www.meed.com, a leading source of high-value business intelligence and economic analysis about the Middle East and North Africa. To access more MEED content register for the 30-day Free Guest User Programme. 

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