UAE passes UN space committee leadership to Egypt

The Emirates had chairmanship of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space for two years

Dr Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Education and chairman of UAE Space Agency, right, at a session held by the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space on June 19, in Vienna. Photo: UAE SShow more

The UAE has handed over leadership of a UN committee that focuses on peaceful uses of space to Egypt.

Omran Sharaf, who was the director of the UAE’s mission to Mars and later appointed the Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation for Advanced Science and Technology, handed over the chairmanship to Dr Sherif Sedky, chief of the Egyptian Space Agency, on Tuesday.

Mr Sharaf led the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (Copuos) for two years after being appointed in 2022.

The committee has been in operation since 1959 and is one of the UN's largest.

It has 100 member states and plays an important role in peaceful uses of space, encouraging international co-operation and recommending laws and policies that support space exploration.

“It has been a remarkable two years since the UAE chaired Copuos,” said Mr Sharaf.

"The UAE's positive and constructive leadership of Copuos underscores its international efforts to enhance security and stability in space exploration and the development of space technologies, ultimately contributing to improving life on Earth."

The handover took place at the 67th session of the committee being held in Vienna, Austria, until June 28.

These sessions are being held at a critical time in a new modern space era, as more countries are looking to establish bases on the Moon.

Geopolitical tensions are also increasingly influencing space activities, with nations vying for strategic advantages and asserting dominance in the final frontier.

Experts have voiced concerns over whether a country could claim resources on the Moon as their property if they were to reach there first, adding complexity to international space law and co-operation.

The first UN Conference on Sustainable Lunar Activities was held on the sidelines of the Copuos session this year, which discussed the US-led Artemis programme and China's International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) - both of which aim towards exploring the lunar surface.

The US developed an international agreement on responsible lunar exploration called the Artemis Accords, signed by more than 40 countries, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

But the accords are not yet legally-binding and nations like China and Russia are unlikely to become signatories, with former Russian space chief Dmitry Rogozin labelling the agreement as “too US-centric”.

Salem Butti Al Qubaisi, director-general of the UAE Space Agency, took part in a panel discussion at the conference on lunar activities.

"Common practices is one of the things we want to see more of. Our success that we built in the space sector is by getting partnership internationally... and hopefully we can see that start between both the Artemis Accords and the ILRS," he said.

The UAE Space Agency also shared details of its Abu Dhabi Space Debate, the second edition of the conference that will be held in December.

The conference will address pressing challenges in the space sector, emphasising the importance of international co-operation and scientific research.