Burkina Faso's Prime Minister Visits Aerospace Information Research Institute

Burkina Faso's Prime Minister Apollinaire Joachimson Kyelem de Tambela visited the Aerospace Information Research Institute (AIR) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) on the afternoon of September 4, during his trip to China for the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

The delegation, consisting of top officials of the country, toured several AIR's research facilities, including the Sustainable Development Big Data Sharing Platform and Science Satellite System, the Sustainable Development Visualization and Application System, and the China Remote Sensing Satellite Ground Station. 

WANG Zhenyu, Deputy Director General of the International Cooperation Bureau at CAS, warmly welcomed PM Kyelem de Tambela and his delegation and reaffirmed CAS's commitment to fostering scientific innovation partnerships with Burkina Faso and other African nations. He mentioned that the China-Africa Joint Research Center, established in 2013, is an open platform for Africa and the broader international community. He noted that since 2018, S&T cooperation between CAS and Burkina Faso has made good progress, yet there remains significant potential for further collaboration in joint research, personnel exchanges, and talent training. 

Wu Yirong, Director General of AIR, briefly introduced the institute's scientific research and operation. He pointed out that African countries are important partners of AIR, and in recent years, the data and technology from AIR have been widely applied in areas such as agricultural monitoring, disaster emergency response, environmental monitoring, and heritage protection in Africa, contributing to sustainable development across the continent. Many African countries have also sent trainees to participate in AIR's training programs on Earth observation, BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, and other fields. He expressed his hope for deeper scientific cooperation between AIR and Burkina Faso.

Kyelem de Tambela said that he is looking forward to strengthening cooperation with AIR in the aerospace information field and exploring diverse forms of partnership, including capacity building, higher education, talent exchange, and joint research initiatives. 

The Chinese side at the event included representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Bureau of International Cooperation at CAS, AIR, and AIRSAT Technology Group.

Panel discussion. (Image by AIR)

Group photo. (Image by AIR)