Considerazioni introduttive pronunciate dall’Ambasciatrice Mariangela Zappia, Rappresentante Permanente dell’Italia presso le Nazioni Unite, all’Evento virtuale su “SpaceDiplomacy for a Growing SpaceEconomy”. —
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Allow me first to welcome you all and it’s really a great pleasure to do it together with my dear friend the Permanent Representative of the U.A.E., Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, and the Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, Simonetta di Pippo.
I also wish to thank all the institutional and private company representatives that, through their participation, have agreed to take part in today’s discussion on space diplomacy.
U.A.E. and Italy are strong allies in all space-related activities and are amongst the pioneer participants in the Artemis Accords to promote a safe and responsible international cooperation for Space Diplomacy.
Space Economy is one of the key topics of EXPO Dubai, where all Italian space Champions as well as the Italian Space Agency will participate to showcase our common achievements and the shared vision on futuristic sciences also traced in the U.A.E. Centennial 2071 of our Emirati friends.
Today, space-based applications offer unique resources to all of us, including for economic growth and innovation. Internet is very much dependent on space.
Satellite systems are essential to monitoring land, maritime and air security, as well as to tackling critical issues, such as natural disaster management and climate change.
The space domain enables a number of services that have become key to the well-functioning of our economies and to our security.
There is hardly any other domain where international cooperation is more compelling, this is why Italy is party to more than sixty bilateral agreements with both space-faring and developing countries, and to the majority of international treaties on outer space.
We support and actively participate in different regional and international organizations, whose work is relevant to the development and peaceful use of outer space, through capacity-building activities in emerging space-faring nations.
In this regard, our projects aim to increase the involvement of African countries in space-related activities also aiming at the implementation of the Space 2030 Agenda.
States must commit to securing the wellbeing of humankind by working together for the long-term sustainability, safety and security of the space environment.
The sharply increasing number of economic activities in space is indeed posing an enormous challenge for humanity, to be collectively undertaken by public and private actors. This is what of space diplomacy is about.
Today’s event provides us with the opportunity to reflect on how to further develop space diplomacy.
Regrettably, there are still many factors creating obstacles to space accessibility, preventing many countries from fully benefitting from the space economy; science and technology and their applications.
We continue to believe that a set of globally shared principles of responsible behavior in outer space may be the most appropriate way to address these challenges.
These shared principles, most recently recognized by resolution 75/36, should constitute the basis for an international Code of Conduct to serve longer term goals across the full range of space activities: that is, non-interference in the peaceful exploration and use of outer space; prevention of the creation of debris; increasing international cooperation in space; preservation of the integrity of the space environment for all; equitable access to outer space; increasing transparency in the conduct of space exploration and exploitation activities.
In this regard, UNOOSA has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to facilitate the establishment of partnerships between public and private entities, which have proven to be instrumental to expanding opportunities to access outer space and ultimately benefit humankind.
UNOOSA is now working at broadening the number of countries that benefit from space-based technology, under the Access to Space for All program.
In conclusion, Italy believes Member States should continue to enable UNOOSA to fulfil its role as a key UN actor in decision making in the space sector, at a time when space activities are booming and the need for international cooperation is greater.
Italy stands ready to give its contribution towards achieving a broader and more effective space diplomacy to serve a growing global space economy.
