Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1123240
30.05.19 6 SPACE ON Tuesday, the Research and Space Ministers met in Brus- sels for the Council meeting of Ministers of the EU under the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU. The first part of the Minis- terial meeting which featured space, discussed Europe's role as a global actor in space and as a contributor to build the global space governance. The EU Ministers also par- ticipated in the Council of the European Space Agency (ESA) where the Resolution on "Space as an enabler" was adopted. This resolution emphasises the role of space as an ena- bler for socio-economic ben- efits and for the expansion of knowledge especially in sci- ence, technology and applica- tions. This will support industries such as energy, public health, environment, agriculture, transport and climate change. Parliamentary Secretary for Innovation Silvio Schembri said that Malta had recently launched its vision to launch its own National Space Strat- egy with the aim of creating a regulatory framework and incentives. These would improve Mal- ta's attractiveness and capa- bility to capitalise upon com- mercial activities related to the outer space. In a policy debate, the min- isters discussed research and innovation as the driving force for a more competitive EU. They all agreed that in or- der to be able to deliver on the objectives undertaken at EU level in the field of R&I, a higher level of commitment from both the EU and the Member States was still need- ed for reaping the full poten- tial of Europe in the research and innovation field. Malta said the EU needs to prioritise research in- vestments to address global societal challenges and the general sustainability of our economies. In today's digital age, Malta is at the fore-front of captur- ing the economic opportuni- ties emanating from emerg- ing digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics, big data, disruptive ledger technologies, cyberse- curity and Internet of Things. In fact, Malta's adoption of a legal framework for disrup- tive ledger technologies, has transformed the country into a global leader of industries such as blockchain. The country is actively working on the development and launching of an AI Strat- egy, which will focus upon a human-centric and socially responsible policy, support- ive of AI-driven innovative start-ups. Schembri was accompanied by the Deputy Permanent Representative Lorenzo Vel- la, Technical Attaché Omar Cutajar and Dr Ing James Foden, Senior Director with- in the Malta Council for Sci- ence and Technology. "The space sector should reach out to a wider participation, in a collaborative manner and engage the non-space industries, such as ICT, AI, tourism, maritime and oceans, health and climate change." European Space Agency resolution recognises 'Space as an enabler'