Under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Space Authority, and His Excellency the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Local Content and Government Procurement Authority, Mr. Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef, the two bodies signed a joint memorandum of understanding to enhance the Kingdom's capabilities in the industries of the space sector Which is among the ambitious goals of the Kingdom's 2030 vision.

The memorandum of understanding was signed by the Saudi Space Authority, CEO, Dr. Abdulaziz bin Muhammad Al Al-Sheikh, and by the Local Content and Government Procurement Authority, CEO, Abdul Rahman bin Abdullah Al-Sammari.

The MoU aims to enhance joint cooperation between the two agencies, and to achieve complementarity and harmonization of joint efforts, in order to develop local content across the various stages of the value chain of the promising space sector in the Kingdom, in addition to promoting government procurement work in the Saudi Space Authority.

in this context, Prince Sultan bin Salman said: “The signing of the agreement comes within the methodology of partnership and integration between government agencies to enable the space sector to achieve the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to establish an integrated industry linked to the space that has become promising with economic contributions.”

His Highness, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Space Authority, added that the agreement opens new horizons for developing the field of scientific research and stimulating innovation in the space industry by relying on local capabilities, by providing the state with a package of financial and supervisory enablers that lead to the maturity of this sector, as happened in other successful experiences. To embrace economic sectors until they have matured and have been launched, which will lead to enabling the space sector in the Kingdom to achieve the position befitting the name of our country regionally and internationally at all levels, especially since the space sector is characterized by sustainable growth, which makes it an economic and strategic future that makes it a destination for all countries Developed.

His Highness expressed his confidence in the state's support for this sector, which will contribute to accelerating the reaping of fruits, after the space sector has undergone important achievements since the Kingdom's first pioneering of space in 1405 AH, and the distinguished efforts that followed for the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, through many valuable contributions to the research centers of the entities Governmental and universities, leading to the state’s establishment of a national space authority, assigning it to collect the diaspora of this sector, and directing it to achieve economic and strategic gains that are commensurate with what God has loved for the Kingdom in terms of distinguished human cadres, an organizational structure, and an important geographical location that makes it more prepared than others to start building a sector Promising vital that benefits the Kingdom, and extends to achieve the good of humanity in light of the progress of our beloved kingdom in the medical and scientific cadres of citizenship, always invoking a proven fact throughout history that the Kingdom is the country of Islam and the country of the Two Holy Sanctuaries that must always precede its sustainable contributions to the good of humanity And her future.

Prince Sultan concluded his statement that he would soon announce a set of preparatory partnerships to complete the comprehensive vision of the initiative to "return the Kingdom to its leadership at the space level" in preparation for raising to the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques an integrated project for approval and proceeding with its implementation, indicating at the same time that this strategic project will include Criteria for selecting those qualified to participate in ambitious scientific programs and experiments to carry out space missions, and to build a generation of Saudi astronauts to effectively contribute to the achievement of new scientific achievements, in addition to what has been achieved internationally in the field of space leadership.

For his part, His Excellency Mr. Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef valued the support of His Highness Prince Sultan bin Salman to sign this agreement, which aims to develop the local content of this important and promising sector, stressing that the agreement represents one of the Kingdom's strategic directions for developing industries with added value to the national economy, and this agreement will contribute to Achieving our strategy to increase the rate of localization and the development of local content and development in the space sector in Saudi Arabia, which represents a major priority for the wise leadership.

He said, "We will work in the Local Content and Governmental Procurement Authority, through this agreement, to include requirements and elements of local content in all projects implemented by the Saudi Space Authority, in addition to setting a baseline and setting targets for local content indicators at the level of the Saudi space sector.

Al-Khorayef stressed that the Local Content and Governmental Procurement Authority, according to the agreement, will participate in the governance of the "private sector participation" program led by the Saudi Space Authority, in addition to identifying and developing investment opportunities that can be used to develop local content at the sector level.

According to the agreement, the Governmental Content and Procurement Authority will determine the methodology for measuring the baseline of local content, ensuring compliance with the proportions of local content included in the contracts, in addition to identifying indicators for local content in the Saudi space sector, and identifying and developing investment opportunities that can be used in developing local content. At the same time, it stimulates the private sector to invest in the Saudi space sector.

The cooperation agreement will open new horizons for the development of the field of scientific research and innovation in the space industry, depending on local capabilities, especially at the level of the Kingdom's young men and women in particular. This agreement will also enhance the integration and unification of efforts between the two parties, in order to enable the development of local content in the space sector, to become a vital tributary of the Saudi economy and contribute to advancing sustainable development.