The foreign ministry will next week host the Italy-Africa space conference, which aims to launch bilateral and multilateral dialogue with the continent's countries with space capabilities and pinpoint new cooperation areas, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
Foreign minister Antonio Tajani will open the conference on Monday (15 July), which will focus on three key areas - education and training, space applications and sustainable services and international parterships.
The conference aims to spotlight the importance of space diplomacy as a part of growth diplomacy to foster research and innovation, benefiting Italy and emerging economies. The event is being organised within the broader framework of Italy's five billion 'Mattei' plan unveiled earlier this year to stabilise Africa and boost its economic growth through 'non-predatory' partnerships in a raft of areas from energy to eduction, health and infrastructure.
Conference speakers include Italy's industry minister Adolfo Urso, culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano, undersecretary of state at the prime minister's office, Alfredo Mantovano, Congo's higher eduction, scientific research and technological innovation minister Delphine Edith Emmanuel Adouki, Ghana's environment, science, technology and innovation minister Ophelia Mensah, Mozambique's science, technology and higher education minister Daniel Daniel Nivagara, and Somalia's planning, investment and economic development minister Mohamed Adam Moalim, according to the statement.
