The event was inaugurated by the Italian Ambassador to India Antonio Bartoli, and by speeches of the Indian Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Hon. Sarbananda Sonowal, who mentioned the recent national successes in the space sector, and of the Italian Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso. Minister Urso highlighted how, sixty years after the launch of the first Italian satellite – San Marco-1 – which made Italy the third country to reach this milestone in 1964, Italy today has human, technological and industrial skills in all sectors of the Space Economy.
In the first panel, entitled “Space: Bilateral cooperation and regional footprint”, dedicated to Space Economy, the General Manager of Leonardo International Enrico Savio emphasized how “Leonardo and its subsidiaries represent the entire value chain in the Space sector, which supports Italy’s role in activities for Europe and beyond. This derives from a long-term strategic vision and is realized thanks to the work of our people.
On an international level, the challenge is how to integrate this value chain into the industrial ecosystem of countries such as India which is already very active in the Space sector. It is not just a question of technical aspects, but of will and commitment to develop together: on one side there is competition while on the other there is partnership; if we want to create mutual opportunities, we must trust each other and have clear and shared objectives. This does not only apply to space or maritime activities, but to the wide range of Leonardo’s portfolio”.
Marco Brancati, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer of Telespazio, explained: “Leonardo and its joint ventures contribute significantly to the growth of the country’s positioning in Space, given the key role we play in the sector of sustainability for the Planet and Space itself”. He then added: “It’s also necessary to underline the need for new space programmes to be integrated from the very beginning with digital technologies such as, AI, big data analytics and digital twins, in order to bring human presence back to the Moon and then to Mars”.
In the panel “Sailing into the Blue Economy: Navigating Sustainable and Secure Seas”, dedicated to the economy of maritime activities, Angelo Checchini, Leonardo senior vice president North East Asia & Oceania, explained: “Leonardo contributes to the Blue Economy through the offering of a comprehensive, modular, and scalable suite of products and solutions integrated within a net-centric architecture. The company places great importance on technological and industrial collaborations with Indian partners to enhance security and promote sustainability in the maritime domain for both national and regional levels.”