• India assumed the G20 Presidency in December 2022 and will host the next G20 Summit 

Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda said that Sri Lanka stood ready to collaborate with the G20 under India’s Presidency to explore ways and means in which non-G20 countries can benefit from the space economy, the size of which is expected to reach US $ 1 trillion by 2040, a statement from the Sri Lankan mission said.

Sri Lanka through the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies has been collaborating for some time with ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) and other international agencies in an effort to take advantage of this fast-growing sector, according to the statement.

Practical applications for Sri Lanka include the use of satellite technology to support agriculture, education, climate change, fisheries, health, telecommunications, etc. Furthermore, Sri Lanka’s unique strategic location vis-à-vis the new frontier of space technology was pointed out over 50 years ago by visionary author/scientist, the late Sir Arthur C. Clarke. Clarke was an honorary citizen of Sri Lanka after whom the Clarke Orbit or Clarke Belt is named.

India assumed the G20 Presidency in December 2022 and will host the next G20 Summit to be held in September 2023. In line with the earlier efforts of the past three G20 Presidencies to place the ‘space economy’ as a formal item on the G20 agenda, the ISRO held an ‘inception meeting’ of Space Economy leaders in Shillong, Meghalaya. The High Commissioner attended it.