BANGKOK, 08 JULY 2022 – Dr. Gay Jane P. Perez, Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) Deputy Director General for Space Science and Technology, paid a courtesy call on the Philippine Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand on 06 July 2022, following the conclusion of meetings on space applications at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

Ms. Mary Anne A. Padua, Deputy Chief of Mission, received Dr. Perez on behalf of Philippine Ambassador Millicent Cruz Paredes.

During the courtesy call, Dr. Perez briefed Embassy officials on the policy thrusts and programs of PhilSA including the plans for the Philippines’ next satellite: the Multispectral Unit for Land Assessment or MULA. She also presented the different applications of space science and technology used in everyday life, for the benefit of every Filipino and for the development of the Philippines. PhilSA is active in the Philippine Government’s work in agriculture and food security, disaster risk management and climate change action, the protection of Philippine sovereignty, among others.

Deputy Chief of Mission Padua reiterated the support of the Embassy for PhilSA’s pursuit of international partnerships and collaboration on space science and technology applications. As Dr. Perez said, in such a specialized and forward-looking field, “in order to run far, run together.” Ms. Padua assured her of the Embassy’s continued engagement with UN ESCAP and Thailand’s Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA).

Dr. Perez is the Philippines' representative to the Informal Working Group on the Preparations for the Fourth Ministerial Conference on Space Applications for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific, which will be held online and in Jakarta, Indonesia on 26 October 2022. She also chaired the Expert advisory meeting on building institutional capacity for the use of integrated spatio-temporal data in local SDGs monitoring and decision-making project on 05-07 July 2022. The ESCAP meetings were organized to advance regional cooperation in space applications for sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific.

For more information on the upcoming Ministerial Conference, please visit https://www.unescap.org/events/2022/fourth-ministerial-conference-space-applications-sustainable-development-asia-and. END