Rwanda is keen to have the UAE’s cooperation to utilize geospatial data in developmental projects in key sectors, a senior official told Emirates News Agency (WAM).
“We are looking at [cooperation with UAE in] the space sector,” the agency quoted Paula Ingabire, Rwandan Minister of ICT and Innovation, as saying.
“One of the things we’re looking at is how do we leverage data in general, but very specifically geospatial data, to support some of the programs and policies that we are implementing in agriculture, education, mining, and infrastructure development,” she added.
The minister noted that the geospatial data was globally being leveraged and utilized in policy decisions and program implementation.
“We know UAE is quite advanced in this area and we would like to learn from the UAE,” said Ingabire, a known technology enthusiast.
She is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) School of Engineering and Sloan School of Management, in the System Design and Management.
Space for cooperation?
Asked whether Rwanda was looking for the UAE’s cooperation for launching its own satellite or sharing geospatial data from the Emirati space assets, Ingabire said, “It’s actually a mix of both. The starting point is building capacity.”
She added: “You can have access to different geospatial datasets, and you have the capacity and the ability to mine, analyze and translate that into a way that creates value for us.”
Being able to have those analytical skills and tools would enable Rwanda to use relevant data for valuable insights in its policies and programs being implemented in the country, said the minister.
“We also have ambitions, obviously, to partner with countries like UAE to build and be able to launch our own satellite,” she explained.
“That may be a mid to long term ambition, even as we already think about the low hanging fruit, which is really around building analytical skills and how we can make the best use of these geospatial data.”