P. O. Box 500, a-1400, Vienna, Austria. Corrections will be issued in a consolidated corrigendum

 

COPUOS/T.551 

Page 15

 

for carrying three instruments of ESA onboard India’s 

first scientific mission to the Moon, Chandrayaan-1. 

 

 

An Agreement with Russia to cooperate in its 

GLONASS programme. 

 

 

A Memorandum of Understanding between 

the Antrix Corporation of the Department of Space and 

EADS Astrium, France, during 20 June 2005, to jointly 

address the commercial market for communication 

satellites in the mass range of two to three tons.  The 

Agreement envisages optimizing ISRO’s INSAT 

platform, along with EADS Astrium communication 

payloads.  We are happy to inform that the first 

Agreement under this umbrella Memorandum of 

Understanding has been signed. 

 

 

An arrangement concerning consideration of 

potential future cooperation in the field of outer space 

between ISRO and JAXA, Japan, during October 2005. 

 

 

Mr. Chairman, the integrated and application-

driven space programme pursued by ISRO has 

benefited the common man and has enhanced their 

quality of life. 

 

 

Towards our quest for utilization of outer 

space for peaceful purposes and benefiting mankind 

through proper use of space-based assets, we feel the 

agenda for this session of the COPUOS is very relevant 

and important.  Our deliberations during the session 

should encourage the developing countries in 

contributing extensively towards capacity-building for 

gainful utilization of space application programmes. 

 

 

The Indian delegation firmly believes that 

COPUOS will continue to contribute through exchange 

of views and sharing of expertise that exists among 

various countries in the world in the space technology 

front and make the Earth a better place to live in. 

 

 

Thank you Mr. Chairman. 

 

 

The CHAIRMAN 

(interpretation from 

French):  Thank you Dr. Suresh for your contribution.  

I have to say that every time I hear a statement on 

India’s space activities, I am deeply impressed by the 

great success that you have accomplished over the 

years and the very highly-structured, very well 

organized way in which you pursue these activities in 

your country.  Often I have told myself, I wish we 

could copy that, we could have the same approach.  

Again, congratulations on your accomplishments.  I 

think the quality of your space programme is 

something that we should all learn from.  We should 

learn of better ways of applying space technologies in a 

number of countries.  In that sense, your contribution 

to the work of this Committee is of particular 

importance.  Thank you again. 

 

 

And I now call on Romania, Mr. Marius Piso. 

 

 

Mr. M.-I. PISO (Romania) (interpretation 

from French):  Thank you Mr. Chairman. 

 

 

(Continued in English) Let me express, on 

behalf of the delegation of Romania, my 

congratulations to your and to the delegation of France 

for your election in the main chair of this Committee.  

And let me express my certitude that strategic and 

practical goals and objectives of COPUOS will be 

successfully accomplished under your chairmanship. 

 

 

Let me also extend the congratulations to Dr. 

Elöd Both from Hungary and Dr. Paul Tiendrebeogo 

from Burkina Faso for their election in the Board of 

this Committee. 

 

 

Mr. Abiodun, also please accept my 

congratulations for the successfully leadership of the 

Committee during the last years, together with my 

hope that all the actions already started during your 

mandate will benefit of successful follow-up. 

 

 

Mr. Chairman and distinguished delegates, 

Romania is continuing its own space development at 

the national level and together with the international 

space community. 

 

 

The Romanian Space programme is further 

developed under the authority of the Romanian Space 

Agency and accomplished by more than 104 

organizations with research, academic and industrial 

profiles.  The five sub-programmes, space policy and 

infrastructure, space exploration, space applications, 

aerospace technology, industrial development and spin-

off, were completed recently with a space technology 

programme for security.  Presently, being involving 

several hundreds full-time equivalent professionals, 

and this programme recorded a substantial growth 

during the last year.  I would like to remind that most 

of the projects are completed under international 

cooperation.  I might mention contributions to 

international space exploration projects.  Also 

development of space applications in the frame of 

Europe or the European Commission and the European 

Space Agency.  I would like also to recall that 

Romania is continuing to strengthen its international 

cooperation within the frame of the European Space 

Agency. 

 

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COPUOS/T.551 

Page 16 

 

 

 

And between the last sessions of the 

Committee, Romanian became an ESA Cooperating 

State and the signature of the specific Agreement 

happened during last February in Bucharest, under the 

authority of the Prime Minister of Romania.  By this 

new Agreement, laboratories, universities and 

companies from Romania will actively contribute to 

the ESA space missions and technology applications.  

This Agreement concluded also the establishment of 

the ESA European Cooperating States Committee, 

having as members the Czech Republic, Hungary and 

Romania. 

 

 

Agreements and technical cooperation 

projects are ongoing and are in preparation between the 

Romanian Space Agency and significant organizations, 

as NASA and the French Space Agency, CNES, the 

German Aerospace Centre, for projects directed to both 

science and direct applications as space technology, as 

for precision agriculture, environmental monitoring 

and tele-medicine. 

 

 

A Government Agreement on cooperation in 

the peaceful exploration and uses of space is under 

negotiation with the Russian Federation. 

 

 

Also Romania continued the projects of 

technical assistance for developing States and since 

this year, is giving technical assistance to the Republic 

of Moldova for remote sensing applications in 

agriculture. 

 

 

Mr. Chairman and distinguished delegates, 

with reference to agenda item 6, maintaining outer 

space for exclusive peaceful utilization of space 

technology is a need and a must.  Nevertheless, in 

today’s world, we are ever more convinced that science 

and technology should be used to enhance human 

security and safety.  The humankind is facing more and 

more threats from the global Earth and space 

environment, but also from terrorism, from deadly 

diseases, from extreme poverty and hunger.  Space 

technology already proved its contribution to the 

overall mitigation of the effects of natural disasters.  

Nevertheless, we should improve the mechanisms and 

increase the efficiency of the space tool utilizations for 

better warning, monitoring and prediction, to a better 

preparedness to meet unfortunate major natural events. 

 

 

However, in the same sense, among the most 

pressing problems we face today are harmonizing 

economic development with global warming, 

preventing the use of advanced technology by terrorists 

and controlling infectious diseases. 

 

 

This broader and more comprehensive 

security concept, which goes beyond military aspects 

and security of States, needs, for its development, as a 

major pillar, the contribution of space activities.  In our 

opinion, this contribution could be undertaken by 

maintaining both the peaceful aspect of space 

technology development and fostering the maintaining 

the outer space for peaceful purposes. 

 

 

International efforts to address these problems 

are needed more than ever and space and security are 

items which are to be discussed again together in the 

frame of most significant international organizations.  

In particular, in the frame of the European Union, 

space and security were brought together in the frame 

of the new Research and Technology Development 

Framework Programme 7. 

 

 

As my delegation mentioned also during the 

latest COPUOS sessions, space is generating 

significant added value in the areas of security, as for 

reliable information for early warning, operational 

capabilities and readiness being proven by space 

imagery, secure and reliable communications, space-

based positioning and time distribution. 

 

 

In my country, I am able to announce that the 

role of space in adding value to the security concept 

has been already recognized.  This means that the 

Romanian Space Agency is in charge since more than 

two years with the leadership of the Inter-Ministerial 

Committee on Security Research and the National 

Research and Technology Development Programme on 

security research has been already started.  And more 

than a dozen projects include the utilization of space 

technologies, as Earth observation, GNSS and satellite 

communications for the improvement of security-

keeping mechanisms and for disaster monitoring. 

 

 Considering 

the 

global significance of the 

disaster management and security aspects of space 

developments, I might draw into your attention the 

need for a growing role of the Committee and its 

Subcommittees, together with an adequate definition of 

their mechanisms in order to maintain the capability to 

confront with those new challenges. 

 

 

Mr. Chairman, concerning the seventh item of 

the agenda, the opinion of my delegation is that we 

should concentrate our efforts to contribute to an 

efficient follow-up of the UNISPACE III 

recommendations in taking into consideration the 

appropriate local and regional capabilities and needs.  

The outstanding work already pursued by the Action 

Teams should be naturally followed by the definition 

and implementation of action plans, containing specific 

---