BEIJING: Pakistan’s Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said recently that Islamabad and Beijing’s collaboration, which resulted in the successful launch of a Pakistani Remote Sensing Satellite, shows that the bilateral friendship between the two nations is “higher than the skies.”
China launched the Pakistan satellite (PRSS-1) from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China’s Sichuan Province on Jul. 31.
The satellite, being primarily used in the fields of land resource surveys and disaster prevention and mitigation, will help promote the development of Pakistan, Iqbal said in a recent interview with the China Central Television (CCTV).
“This [satellite] is becoming a very important tool for development of mankind in future,” Iqbal said. “Because through satellite technology and communication, you can observe earth to prevent or to manage disasters.”
He said one can manage the agriculture sector “better” with the use of satellites and even cities as well. The Pakistani minister said there are so many economic applications that satellites offer and promise, adding that “this is key to our futures.”
“With this launch of satellite, I can proudly say that Pakistan-China friendship, which used to be higher than the Himalayas, now is higher than the sky,” he concluded.
The satellite launch marked another step in Pakistan’s growing engagement with outer space with Chinese assistance. The two countries are also preparing to send the first Pakistani astronaut into space aboard China’s Tiangong space station, with training programs currently underway.
