The first meeting of space agencies and related institutions of the member and observer states of the Organization of Turkish States (TDT) was held in Azerbaijan. Turkish Space Agency President Yildirim said, “We are taking a historic step, the importance of which will be understood more in the coming years. We have to be strong in space both to protect the rights of our own nations and to serve all humanity.”
Officials from Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Hungary attended the meeting hosted by the Azerbaijan Space Agency (Azerkosmos) in Baku. At the meeting, presentations were made on the space projects of TDT members, and discussions were held on the determination of joint activity directions in order to develop cooperation in this field.
Representing Turkey at the meeting, Turkish Space Agency (TUA) President Serdar Huseyin Yildirim said in a statement to the press, “We are taking a historic step, the importance of which will be understood more in the coming years.”
“WE ARE TAKING THE FIRST STEP”
Emphasizing that they are entering an era where the importance of space is increasing day by day, Yildirim said, “We have to be in space strongly in order to protect the rights of our own nations and to serve all humanity. Our aim here is purely peaceful. By continuing the space studies, we want to say to the whole world that we are also involved in these studies. This is what we gathered for. We are taking the first step. Getting started is half of finishing. We have taken a very important step by starting. We need to bring the continuation with the same enthusiasm.”
Azerkosmos President Sameddin Asadov stated that they came together to obtain detailed information about space studies in Turkish states and to discuss cooperation opportunities.
Asadov reminded that the great states have made great investments in space and emphasized that the Turkish states should also join forces in space studies.
TDT Deputy Secretary General Mirvokhid Azimov pointed out that the member countries have great potential in the field of space and said, “The countries’ use of this potential and benefiting from each other’s experiences will form an important infrastructure for cooperation in the space field.”
Source: Sabah / Translated by Irem Yildiz