India assumed the G20 Presidency in December 2022 and will host the next G20 Summit to be held in September 2023. In line with the earlier efforts of the past three G20 Presidencies to place the ‘space economy’ as a formal item on the G20 agenda, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) held an ‘inception meeting’ of Space Economy leaders in Shillong, Meghalaya.
The High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India, Milinda Moragoda, was invited by ISRO to participate at this meeting. Other Non-G20 countries represented at the meeting included Bhutan and Oman. The objective of this meeting was to discuss the importance of the space economy within the global economy and to foster understanding and exchanges of information on the state of the space economy presently existing in the G20 countries.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is the national space agency of India.
High Commissioner Moragoda in his intervention at the meeting stated that Sri Lanka’s participation at this forum was a direct result of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative to include “Voices from the Global South” in G20 activities. In this context, Moragoda stated that Sri Lanka stood ready to collaborate with the G20 under India’s Presidency to explore ways and means in which non-G20 countries can benefit from the space economy, the size of which is expected to reach USD 1 trillion by 2040.
Sri Lanka through the Arthur C.Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies has been collaborating for some time with ISRO and other international agencies in an effort to take advantage of this fast-growing sector.
Practical applications for Sri Lanka include the use of satellite technology to support agriculture, education, climate change, fisheries, health, and telecommunications.
Furthermore, Sri Lanka’s unique strategic location vis fisheries, health, and telecommunications. Furthermore, Sri Lanka’s unique strategic location vis à vis the new frontier of space technology was pointed out over 50 years ago by visionary author/scientist, the late Sir Arthur C. Clarke. Clarke was an honorary citizen of Sri Lanka after whom the Clarke Orbit or Clarke Belt is named.
The objective of this meeting was to discuss the importance of the space economy within the global economy and to foster understanding and exchanges of information on the state of the space economy presently existing in the G20 countries.
