Nigeria and the Indian Government have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the usage and exploration of the outer space.
The report by Nigeria’s Channels Television said that the signing of the MoU took place on Thursday during a virtual meeting at the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology in Abuja.
The report quoted a statement by the India Ministry of External Affairs as saying that the signing of the MoU was witnessed by Nigeria’s Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu and the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Shri. V. Muraleedharan.
It added that the Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Dr. K. Sivan signed the agreement on behalf of the Indian government, while the Director-General of National Space Research & Development Agency (NASRDA), Dr. Francis Chizea, signed for Nigeria.
“The MoU envisages India-Nigeria collaboration in space science, planetary exploration, ground stations, development of micro and mini satellites and joint Space R&D,
“It provides for capacity building assistance by ISRO, exchange of scientific know-how, exchanges between academic institutes and joint symposiums/conferences,” the statement said.
According to the statement, the cooperation in remote sensing, communications and navigations “will benefit Nigeria in the fields of forestry, environment, agriculture, mining, watershed development and connectivity”.
It noted that in the past 12 years, “49 Nigerian nationals have attended various short-term ITEC courses in India in the fields of Remote Sensing, GIS and Geoinformatics”, and that the MoU will deepen the Asian nation’s capacity-building assistance to Nigeria.
It recalled that during the event, both countries also agreed to seal a subsidiary MoU between New Space India Limited (NSIL) and Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) on the use of Geospatial Technologies.
GIK/APA