President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday said Pakistan supported the peaceful use of space technology and stressed that achieving self-reliance in satellite navigation was significant for the country to match the pace of global scientific advancements.
The president called for the revision of global space laws in pursuit of activities for peaceful purposes and emphasized a ‘responsible approach’ by the States to discourage the proliferation of space debris in the Earth’s orbit.
He was addressing the concluding ceremony of the International Conference on Space (ICS) 2022 on ‘Role of Space Technology and Applications in Socio-economic Development.’
Organized by Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), the three-day event brought together space sector scientists, academicians, and researchers to share views on areas of space science, technology, and applications.
President Alvi emphasized that the world needed to understand that science without the approach of compassion and humanity was of little use for mankind. However, he pointed out that the countries with ‘an edge of power’ were ignoring the principles of morality in view of their economic interests.
He said India’s irresponsible attitude was a big threat to the region’s security, adding that the open sale of uranium in the country was a point of concern. He also termed as “highly irresponsible” the recent incident where India’s “unguided” missile was launched toward Pakistan’s airspace.
President Alvi called upon the country’s space technology scientists to explore capabilities in satellite navigation and promote relevant applications in areas of socio-economic development.
President Alvi said the government was focusing on the making of indigenous satellites and added that huge responsibility lay on scientists to target their work and research in identifying future requirements related to satellite navigation in line with latest trends. Chairman SUPARCO Amir Nadeem said the technical discussions of the conference focused on the management of remote data and GIS for better management of natural resources. Secretary-General Asia Pacific Space Cooperation Organization, Yu Qi in her video message shown on the occasion, said Pakistan as a founding member of APSCO always promoted regional cooperation for the promotion of space science.
ICS Secretary Aftab Ahmed Khan highlighted the objective of enhancement of science applications and services for socio-economic development.
