Ambassador Didier Vanderhasselt had the privilege of meeting ISRO’s Scientific Secretary Mr. Ganesh Pillai and high-level officials of the Indian Space Research Organisation in Bengaluru. He was accompanied by Dr. Ilham Kadri, Syensqo CEO, her delegation, and Mr. Dharanidharan Sivasamy from hub.brussels – Asia.
Syensqo, which was established in Belgium more than 160 years ago, is the world’s leader in advanced materials and offers cost-efficient, light weight solutions to leading space programs, including in India. Dr. Kadri, who is also President of Cefic – European Chemical Industry Council, underscored Syensqo’s focus on innovation in space technology.
The group went on to visit ISRO’s Satellite Integration and Test Establishment (ISITE) where all Indian satellites are tested and assembled. The operations are gigantic in scale, with facilities capable of testing up to 14 satellites at once in its giant clean rooms.
As a founding member of the European Space Agency (ESA) and its fifth-largest contributor, Belgium remains at the forefront of space exploration worldwide. Indeed, the Proba-3 satellites that were launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in December 2024 were built in Belgium to test precision formation flying in space.
Both Belgium and India enjoy a dynamic space partnership. There exists a mutual academic collaboration in astrophysics between the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO) and India’s ARIES (Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences), including biennial conferences.
This visit emphasized the high possibility of enhanced cooperation between the Indian and Belgian space ecosystems.
Courtesy: Embassy of Belgium Facebook Page