The SCO holds its 12th Steering Committee meeting at IAC 2023

Published on 11/10/2023

Taking advantage of the major events on the international agenda, the SCO held its 12th Steering Committee meeting on the sidelines of IAC 2023 in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. Following in the footsteps of the previous committee meeting held in May during GLOC 2023, the participating members voted in favor of important decisions designed to promote the growth of the Observatory and its activities.

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Some of the SCO members present in Baku: (from left to right) Ronald Tong (OSTin, Singapore), Frédéric Bretar and Lionel Suchel (CNES, France), Xing Yi ANG (UNOOSA), Ismat Bakhisov (Azercosmos, Azerbaijan), Daniel Sagath and Michal Brichta (SARIO, Slovakia), Tanita Suepa (GISTDA, Thailand). © SCO

▲ Baku Convention Center © SCO

After Paris in 2022, the International Astronautical Congress IAC held its 74th edition in Baku, and as last year, the SCO took advantage of this event to hold its Steering Committee, in this case the 12th since June 2019. On Tuesday 3 October 2023, at the Baku Convention Center, Mr Ismat Bakhishov, Director of the Azercosmos GIS Centre, introduced the session by expressing his honor and interest in being part of the SCO Steering Committee as the meeting's host country.

Argentina, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Canada, China, Europe, France, Gabon, Mexico, ISPRS, Italy, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Singapore, Slovakia, Sweden, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, UNDP, UNEP, UNOOSA: with 41 members taking part (9 in person, 32 online), representing 25 of the 29 SCO focal points, this committee once again demonstrated a high level of commitment and dynamism.

In accordance with the rules of procedure adopted in May 2023 at the 11th Steering Committee, the participating members voted:

6 applications for SCO membership, which will be signed shortly;
The first work programme to be implemented between now and 2025 (available here), which will enable the alliance's activities and objectives to be steered on a collegiate basis.

To encourage the development of space applications, the 12th Steering Committee also examined the possibilities for implementing the SCO's international call for projects as inclusively as possible. The many discussions at this session, including those on the transfer of applications developed by SCO projects, a working group on global awareness and a membership process for private entities wishing to join the SCO, are providing an increasingly concrete framework for the future and the work of the SCO.

A glance on diary

As presented at the meeting, the SCO plans to take part in major international events, including COP28, Geo Week 2023, 75th IAC, IGAARS 2024, COP29 and the UN/Austria Symposium 2024 "Space for Climate Action".