Muscat: Oman’s space sector will take a big step forward when the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT) will host the inaugural Middle East Conference from January 8-10, 2024.
The conference aims to promote the space sector in the Middle East and Oman’s role as a strategic gateway for attracting investments in space applications and technologies into the region.
Organised by Euroconsult, the French-based space advisory firm, the conference is expected to focus on all key issues for the development of the space sector in the Middle East including space strategies, space sector’s financing, market trends and opportunities across the space industry, satellite communications, Earth observation and more.
Running alongside conference activities will be an exhibition dedicated to local and global companies specialising specifically in space technologies and sciences, with the aim of attracting investment, establishing new business partnerships through networking, and raising awareness in technological developments occurring throughout the sector.
The conference is expected to welcome leading space executives from government agencies and private sector companies around the world.
The conference will be delivered in collaboration with leading global space and satellite strategy consulting and market intelligence firm Euroconsult, leveraging their proven expertise and reputation for delivering informative and executive satellite events for C-level executives since 1997.
The Middle East Space Conference will continue Euroconsult’s established method of securing top level speakers from across the satellite and space sectors, including government agencies, private companies and investors, to share knowledge with the event participants. More than 350 experts are expected to attend the event in Oman from across the Middle East and around the globe.
Dr. Ali bin Amur Al Shidhani, Undersecretary for Communications and Information Technology at MTCIT, said, “By organising this event, the ministry aims to achieve many goals, the most prominent of which is strengthening the position of the Sultanate in the sector and placing it on the global and regional space map due to the country’s competitive advantages and elements that would add value to the space industry.
“This conference aims to raise awareness among the international space community about the regional space sector. It is a unique platform for all partners from government and the industry to communicate directly and establish areas for collaboration.”
During the event in Paris, Euroconsult’s CEO Pacome Révillon said, “We are delighted to be working with the Sultanate of Oman to organise and deliver the first Middle East Space Conference. The region is a vibrant hub of space activity and investment, with huge potential for growth. We’re looking forward to helping to highlight Oman’s role as a gateway for space activity across the Middle East and promoting the region’s current and future space activity to a global audience.”
At the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology outlined its space policy alongside an executive programme for the sector that seeks to stimulate space activity locally, whilst ensuring its prominence on the global space map by helping to attract new services and applications into the Middle East region.
The conference to be held January will take place exactly one year after the Ministry stated its policy objectives and will act as a key platform for the Oman Space Programme to inform the international community on the range of space activities planned in Oman and the wider Middle East region.
Euroconsult was established in 1983 and has provided strategic decision-making assistance to over 1,200 clients across 60 countries to date, including ESA, NASA, CNEX, and JAXA.