Eng. Said Hamoud Al Ma’awali, the Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, last week held a meeting with S. Somanath, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), and a number of ISRO officials and specialists.

Eng. Al Ma’awali was briefed about the Indian experience in the area of space. The two sides discussed various aspects of cooperation and partnership in this field.

As an initiative of cooperation between the Ministry and ISRO, Eng. Al Ma’awali inaugurated the Indian-Omani Earth Observation Platform, which was developed by ISRO.

The platform, which comprises images and data of Indian earth observation satellites, seeks to maximize benefits through its connections with terrestrial space applications, notably by making the data available for use in various development sectors like agriculture, water, fisheries, transport, natural disaster management, urban development and renewable energy.

On the sidelines of the visit, Eng. Al Ma’awali and his accompanying delegation toured the Indian satellite control and monitoring centre. There, the Omani side was briefed about the stage where India’s Chandrayaan-3 vehicle separated from the propulsion capsule in its quest to land on the moon’s surface.

During the visit, Al Ma’awali and his delegation conferred with a number of Indian companies specialized in space industries, as well as emerging firms specialized in information and communication technology. Besides getting insights into the Indian companies’ experience and services, the Omani side marketed investment opportunities available in the Omani market.