Riyadh: The 12th session of the Joint Saudi-Italian Committee was held today in Riyadh as part of bilateral relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Italy, in the presence of Minister of Finance Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan, head of the Saudi side, and Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Luigi Di Maio.

The 12th session addressed several topics, mainly space, where CEO of the Saudi Space Commission Dr. Mohammed Al-Tamimi and President of the Italian Space Agency Giorgio Saccoccia delivered a speech on the top strategic trends for the two countries in the space sector.

Also, the Saudi Space Commission and Italian Space Agency signed a memorandum of understanding in the peaceful use of outer space with the aim of providing a cooperation framework in special activities, reviewing fields of joint interest in the peaceful uses of space, and facilitating the exchange of information, technologies and personnel working in fields of joint interest.

Dr. Al-Tamimi and Saccoccia signed the memo on behalf of their respective institutions.

The deal also aims at developing bilateral cooperation between the two sides in building the capacity in the fields of space sciences and engineering, enhancing the role of scientific mission and inhabited trips programs, and improving cooperation in monitoring the earth, space applications data and manufacturing and launching satellites.