Hungary uses Turkish expertise to establish a local space agency

The head of the Turkish Space Agency, Serdar Huseyin Yildirim, said that he will soon visit Hungary to hold talks on bilateral cooperation on establishing a Hungarian space agency similar to the Turkish one.
Yildirim added, in an interview with the Turkish “Anadolu Agency”, that his upcoming visit to Budapest comes in response to an invitation by the Hungarian Foreign Ministry.

He indicated that he had made similar visits during the past period to Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Azerbaijan, after the latter announced its local space program on February 9, noting that his contacts in Hungary will also be important in terms of cooperation and exchange of experiences.

Yildirim explained that space studies in Hungary are being carried out under the supervision and coordination of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry, and that Budapest is making the necessary preparations for the establishment of a local space agency.

“During the visit, we will hold a meeting with our counterparts in Hungary to follow up on the cooperation agreements signed between the two countries,” he added.

Yildirim confirmed that the meeting will include talks on bilateral cooperation and benefiting from the experience of the Turkish Space Agency in establishing a Hungarian space agency.

He said, “We will share with friends in Hungary our experiences. Turkey is not a member of the European Space Agency, but the Turkish Space Agency is working to develop bilateral cooperation with the member states of the European Space Agency.”

He added, “Perhaps Hungary will be among the first of those countries. In fact, we have received invitations to visit Italy, France and Britain, and we will conduct visits to those countries as well and exchange experiences with them in the field of space studies.”

And he added, “The meetings that the Turkish Space Agency holds with its counterparts in a number of countries in the world will contribute to strengthening the (Turkish) national space program, achieving its goals, opening new paths for cooperation in the field of space technology, and bridging the gap with advanced countries in the field of space studies.”

Yildirim added that the Turkish Space Agency received an invitation to participate in the meeting of the Space Association (IAF) that will be held in Russia from June 14-18, pointing out that the aforementioned union includes a wide range of government and private institutions related to space, as well as being the largest organization in the world concerned with with space sciences.

Source: Anatolia