China to hold first space cooperation forum with LatAm, Caribbean countries

China will hold the first space cooperation forum with Latin American and Caribbean countries during the upcoming Space Day of China, which falls on April 24, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced on Wednesday.

The China-Latin America and the Caribbean Space Cooperation Forum, co-hosted by the CNSA, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Hubei's provincial government, will be held in Wuhan, capital city of Hubei Province, from April 24 to 26, said Lyu Bo, deputy director of the Department of System Engineering at the CNSA, at a press conference in Beijing.

The forum will include the opening ceremony, the main forum and four sub-forums concerning space infrastructure's contribution to sustainable social and economic development, deep space exploration and space science, innovative development of the space industry chain, and global governance and capacity building in outer space, he added.

Nearly 90 delegates from 24 countries and eight international organizations, including government officials, as well as industry, research entities and private sector representatives, will attend the forum.

According to Lyu, a series of events, including a China Space Conference, China Space Culture and Art Forum, and a space science popularization exhibition, will be held in Wuhan to celebrate the Space Day of China.

Officials, academicians and experts from governmental entities, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, universities and space enterprises, as well as foreign guests from 50 countries and regions and international organizations, will participate in those events.

Besides the events in Wuhan, about 500 activities, such as space open day, popular science lectures, knowledge contests, exchanges and discussions, will be held across the country.

Starting in 2016, China chose April 24 as the Space Day of China to mark the launch of its first satellite "Dongfanghong-1" into space on April 24, 1970.