The UAE will explore investment opportunities in the space economy and space tourism services besides other related ventures with Blue Origin, an aerospace manufacturer and spaceflight service company.
In this direction, Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, along with Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs, met Brent Sherwood, Senior Vice President of Blue Origin.
The two sides also discussed expanding the scope of R&D in space to develop emerging space technology in the UAE.
The meeting was also attended by the representatives of AzurX, a Dubai-based technology and strategic sectors investment company, Strategic Advisor to Blue Origin in the Middle East.
During the meeting, the two sides said their efforts will focus on enhancing partnerships with the private sector by supporting the applications of Industry 4.0 and space innovation in a bid to boost the enablers of the UAE’s future economic development.
Bin Touq said, “Through this collaboration, we look forward to leveraging Blue Origin’s leading expertise in space manufacturing and space and low Earth orbit flight services to support the UAE’s plans.”
The minister highlighted the UAE’s main achievements in space as it became the region’s first country to develop an integrated space ecosystem and advanced infrastructure and corporate frameworks in this regard, and launch missions to explore the space such as the Hope Probe, an official statement said.
“Today, the UAE is home to several major space companies, offering excellent opportunities to start-ups in capitalizing on the potential of operating outside the Earth’s orbit. We will move forward with our efforts to attract the companies operating in this field to become partners in driving growth and advancement of UAE’s space economy,” he said.
Bin Touq said the UAE space sector’s added value has reached approximately AED3 billion, and the country’s investments in this sector have amounted to AED22 billion to date.
The sector provides more than 3,200 jobs, and over 57 space companies and entities are currently operating in the UAE, including international and start-ups, and five space science research centers. Throughout recent years, the UAE’s total foreign trade of aerospace vehicles and their parts has reached AED190 billion.