The opening ceremony was attended by Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Antonio Alessandro; Prof. Le Truong Giang, vice president of VAST; and Dr. Pham Anh Tuan, general director of the VNSC.

Speaking at the ceremony, Prof. Le Truong Giang emphasised that the Government of Vietnam has issued a strategy for the development and application of space science and technology until 2030 and identified the promotion of international cooperation as playing an important role in the successful implementation of this strategy.

He said that Italy is one of the few countries with a leading research force in various aspects of the space field, such as satellites, launching Earth observation satellites, and locating and exploring life in space.

Prof. Le Truong Giang, vice president of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, spoke at the ceremony.

He also expressed his hope that through the exhibition, the scientists of VAST in particular and Vietnam in general will have more opportunities for cooperation with Italian partners in the field of space science and technology to discover and apply the results of space technology to serve socio-economic goals, and sustainable development of the two countries.

According to Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Antonio Alessandro, the exhibition takes place in view of celebrating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and Italy next year as well as the occasion of the Italian National Space Day (16 December), celebrated by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in many countries around the world, including in Vietnam.

The purpose of Italy's National Space Day is to raise awareness of the importance of space activities and space technology in many areas such as environment, meteorology, innovation, and defence-security.

Ambassador Antonio Alessandro affirmed that Italy is always ready to support and cooperate with Vietnam in the field of space technology and applications.

The exhibition displays 23 high-definition images of the Earth taken by the Italian satellite system COSMO-SkyMed and processed by Telespazio/e-GEOS, including two remarkable images of the city of Hanoi and the Mekong Delta, together with 9 panels by VNSC illustrating applications of satellite images in remote sensing and disaster prevention in Vietnam.

Some pictures on display at the exhibition:

The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.

Petermann Glacier in Greenland.

Lake Nasser in Egypt.

3 Vietnamese satellites (from left to right): MicroDragon, NanoDragon, and PicoDragon.

The exhibition was visited by Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Antonio Alessandro; Prof. Le Truong Giang, vice president of VAST; and Dr. Pham Anh Tuan, general director of the VNSC.