Welcoming ASEAN partners in Europe: an EU Space success story

The delegation featured members of the ASEAN Secretariat, the Philippine Space Agency and the Thai Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA). The five guests had the opportunity to get a first-hand impression of European space capabilities by visiting key locations of Europe’s space ecosystem in Toulouse and Prague and participating in roundtables with industry and institutional players.

The two-day visit consisted of four thematic meetings:

• The EU Space Programme components and the role of the industry (Toulouse)
• Space developments in France and the role of national space agencies (Toulouse)
• Fostering a competitive space user community with a global reach (Prague)
• A conversation with the EU Space ecosystem (Prague)
   

The visit started at the Aerospace Valley in Toulouse, a major cluster of European aerospace companies and research centres. After a warm welcome by the European Commission, the guests interacted with space industry representatives from large and small space companies and familiarised with the role of national space agencies within the EU and ASEAN’s space ecosystems.

The following day the guests moved to Prague. The Czech capital hosts the headquarters of the European Union Agency of the Space Programme (EUSPA). The delegation had the opportunity to delve into the downstream applications of EGNNS and Earth Observation capabilities from EUSPA officials, representatives from the New Space ecosystem and industry association and learn about the European funding mechanisms fostering innovation in the space sector.

EU Global Action representatives guided the delegation members throughout the two-day visit. The occasion facilitated the exchange of best practices among space agencies from two continents and showed how the European public and private sector work in synergy to achieve a thriving space sector.

The study visit follows the successful policy event “The benefits of the EU Space Programme and 3SOS” which took place in Bangkok on 11 October 2022. Together with the online day “Doing business in the Indo-Pacific: opening up new opportunities based on EU Space capabilities”, the study visit represents only the beginning of a continuing effort to reinforce cooperation in space with partners from the Indo-Pacific region.

On this occasion, the members of the delegation were able to gain in-depth knowledge of the European space ecosystem, from industry associations, traditional and NewSpace companies and institutional players and learn more about the untapped potential of EU space capabilities for the Indo-Pacific region; this visit has undoubtedly fostered trust between the two space communities and laid the ground for new concrete cooperation opportunities. 

We would like to thank the members of the delegation Dr. Zurina Moktar, Head of Science & Technology Division, ASEAN Secretariat, Dr. Joel Joseph S. Marciano Jr, Director General, Philippines Space Agency, Dr. Damrongrit Niammuad, Deputy Executive Director, Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA), Dr. Marc Talampas, Director IV, Space Technology Missions and Systems Bureau, Philippines Space Agency (PhilSA) and Kamolmas Tongkaew, Chief of Business division, Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA).

We are also grateful to the European sites, companies and associations who brought forward their experience and expertise and made themselves available to our guests. Thank you to the Aerospace Valley, CNES, EUSPA, Thales Alenia Space, Airbus, ArianeGroup, EARSC, Space-Y, World from Space, Huld and Agrocasco. 


→  Discover the market segments in the Indo-Pacific region with the most potential for European space companies on our global market reports and have a look at some of the best pictures below.