Vietnam hosts Committee on Earth Observation Satellites Plenary

The 33rd Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) Plenary opened in Hanoi on October 15.

At the opening session
At the opening session

This year’s event, hosted by the Vietnam National Space Centre (VNSC) and the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), attracted the participation of 30 member organisations from Japan, China, France, the UK, the US, Australia, Italy, Switzerland and Canada, among others.

The meeting aimed to discuss and make decisions on activities, plans and strategies of the CEOS for the 2019-2021 period; to evaluate two initiatives proposed by Vietnam in the 2018-2019 term; and to develop multilateral cooperation tasks on regional and global scales.

The Earth Observation Satellite Committee (CEOS) was established in September 1984, with the mission of ensuring a close connection to international cooperation in civil space earth observation programmes and encouraging exchange of satellite data to optimise social benefits, support decisions to ensure a sustainable and prosperous future for mankind.

Since 2013, VAST has become an official member of CEOS and has assigned the Vietnam National Space Centre to be the contact.

According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Anh Tuan, General Director of the VNSC, in 2019, as Vietnam takes the position of CEOS Chairman, Vietnam proposed two main initiatives, namely observation for carbon with a focus on forest monitoring; and observation for agriculture, in particular rice monitoring.