The session examined and approved the Programme of Searching for Potential Partners Interested in Carrying Out Space Communications Projects.

The event, organised in a hybrid format, was joined by representatives of Intersputnik Signatories along with representatives of the Space Research and Technology Agency under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan as an observer. Vugar Bayramov, Chair of the Board, Advisor to the Chairman on International Relations at the Space Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azercosmos), welcomed the delegates. He concluded his speech by inviting Members and Signatories to the next joint session of the Intersputnik Board and the Operations Committee to be held in Baku in 2023. The session was chaired by Evgeny Buydinov, Chair of the Operations Committee, Deputy Director General for Communications Systems Development and Operation of the Russian Satellite Communications Company. Directorate of Intersputnik was presented by Ksenia Drozdova, Intersputnik Director General.

The session focused on the implementation of Intersputnik 2022-2026 development strategy, aimed, among other things, at expanding the geography and enhancing sustainability of commercial activities, increasing financial stability and diversifying the revenue sources of the Organization. Particular attention was paid to the development of mutually beneficial partner relations between Intersputnik’s Signatories and subsidiaries in the implementation of satellite projects on national and regional markets.

Evgeny Buydinov, Chair of the Intersputnik Operations Committee, outlined the key trends in the space communications sector that should be taken into account in shaping the action plan of the Operations Committee. “At present, there is a large number of various promising areas of satellite communications development under consideration,” pointed out Evgeny Buydinov. “One of the most popular technologies applied today is the high-precision positioning for the agricultural development and so-called “precision agriculture”. This technology uses satellite communications to provide high-precision corrections to various navigation systems over the entire area covered by communications satellites. This solution permits to cultivate large areas of agricultural land with high precision (up to 5 cm) and with greater efficiency.” The technology has already been developed into a prototype. Members and Signatories of Intersputnik will receive the description of the technology quite soon, so they can discuss the prospects for practical application in the countries and industries concerned. The speech by Evgeny Buydinov gained keen interest of the session participants, including a representative of the Department of Space, Government of the Republic of India, who asked a number of clarifying questions and commented on the presentation.

In addition, the Operations Committee members focused their discussions on cooperation between Intersputnik and operators of low earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems, as well as on the protection and security of information transmitted through satellite communication channels. According to František Šebek, Chair of the Auditing Commission, representative of the Signatory for the Czech Republic on the Operations Committee, the Organization should continue giving due consideration to all aspects of the use of existing and advanced satellite communication technologies for the benefit of Intersputnik’s Members and Signatories.

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