Egyptian Space Agency Hosts Japanese Delegation to Boost Space Cooperation

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Dr. Sherif Sedky, CEO of the Egyptian Space Agency, welcomed Mr. Suzuki Yusuke, the Economic Advisor at the Embassy of Japan in Egypt. Source: Egyptian Space Agency

On Thursday, 23 January 2025, the Egyptian Space Agency (EgSA) welcomed Mr. Suzuki Yusuke, Economic Advisor at the Japanese Embassy in Egypt, along with his delegation. Dr. Sherif Sedky, CEO of EgSA, highlighted the importance of strengthening collaboration between Egypt and Japan in space technology. He also acknowledged the strong ties between the two nations and their shared commitment to advancing this critical field.

The visiting delegation included Mr Kawashima Shizuki, Second Secretary at the Japanese Embassy, and Ms Minas Ahmed, Senior Economic Analyst. The visit began with a meeting involving EgSA’s senior management, where both sides discussed ways to enhance cooperation in space technology and exchange expertise to achieve common objectives.

Senior Managment from the Egyptian Space Agency with a delegation from the Japanese Embassy in Egypt. Source: Egyptian Space Agency.

After the meeting, the delegation toured the control and image reception station for the MisrSat-2 satellite, gaining insight into the agency’s operational capabilities and ongoing projects. The delegation also visited some of EgSA’s facilities, including the Assembly, Integration, and Testing Centre (AITC), which plays a key role in satellite development. As outlined by EgSA’s CEO, Dr Sedky, during an exclusive interview with Space in Africa, the Assembly, Integration, and Testing Centre (AITC) is complete and awaiting full operationalisation in March 2025. Additionally, this will precede the centre’s full AS 9100 accreditation, strategically positioning it as an enabler of African and global satellite manufacturing and technology business. 

Egypt-Japan Space Collaborations

The visit underscores EgSA’s commitment to building strong international partnerships and advancing joint efforts in the space sector, particularly building upon previous collaborations with Japan. In March 2021, EgSA signed a collaborative agreement with the Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (EJUST). This partnership aimed to provide EJUST with an educational satellite model for communication, remote sensing and space environment applications. Furthermore, this collaboration would strengthen research, development efforts and innovation, utilising the advanced capabilities of Japan’s developed satellite industry support and EgSA’s growing expertise in the field. EJUST is an Egyptian research university with a strong Japanese partnership, headquartered in Alexandria, Egypt. 

Additionally, Egypt signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University Space Engineering Consortium (UNISEC) of Japan, an incorporated non-profit organisation of Japan. The partnership aimed to boost space science cooperation and activities between the two countries. UNISEC is committed to contributing to developing space engineering for both countries. The organisation particularly emphasised cooperative projects and capacity-building through mutual exchange programmes for researchers and students, further developing the human resources needed to advance the space sector. 

Egypt continues to value and invest in building strategic international and bilateral cooperation between EgSA and other foreign institutions and countries to advance space cooperation. China remains Egypt’s most significant collaborator on space projects, with satellite manufacturing as a key pillar of advancing these cooperations, closely followed by advancements in Earth Observation.