The Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF) will be coming to Australia, with Perth set to host the space conference in November 2024.
The Australian Space Agency advocated for Perth to host, with the agency being an “active participant” in APRSAF.
Head of the Australian Space Agency Enrico Palermo said it was an opportunity for Australia to grow its partnerships in the region.
“Space is critical to our national well-being and by working together with our partners in the Indo-Pacific we can develop capabilities that are important to our shared resilience and quality of life,” Palermo said.
“Working together will also help us grow our respective space sectors, make them stronger, and achieve our space ambitions faster.”
APRSAF is self-described as “the largest space-related conference in the Asia-Pacific region”, which was established in 1993.
Conference participants include space agencies, government, and universities as well as private sector organisations from the region.
The 2024 Perth conference will mark the 30th time the conference has been held — hence its name APRSAF-30.
The event will be hosted by the WA Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation and Business Events Perth.
WA state development, jobs and trade minister Roger Cook said it was exciting to see the momentum in WA’s space industry.
“We look forward to bringing the APRSAF-30 to Perth, which will provide a platform to promote our space capabilities to the Asia-Pacific region, enhance international collaboration, and highlight opportunities for economic diversification,” Cook said.
“Events like APRSAF-30 are WA’s front door for trade and investment. With attendees expected from more than 40 countries, it has the potential to not only provide a boost for the State’s space industry but also regional partnerships and local tourism.”
Akira Kosaka, executive secretariat of APRSAF, said he was looking forward to the event.
“APRSAF is an open forum, with diverse participants from the government sector, research institutes and organisations,” Kosaka said.
“In recent years, it has functioned very actively as a forum for exchange with private industries.
“Working together with the Australian Space Agency and the government of Western Australia, we would like to incorporate the dynamism of Australia’s space activities into APRSAF.”
The 29th APRSAF conference will be held in Indonesia in 2023.
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