The workshop was attended by Dr. Pham Anh Tuan, Associate Professor and General Director of Vietnam National Satellite Centre (Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology), and Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Antonio Alessandro, along with experts and leading scientific researchers.

Speaking at the event, Dr. Pham Anh Tuan said that the strategy for development and application of space science and technology to 2030 has been approved by the Vietnamese Government in 2021, with the aim to apply space technology in the management, monitoring, and support of natural resources and the environment towards reducing the damage caused by natural disasters.

Italy is one of the countries with many leading experts in the field of space technology. Therefore, this cooperation will be a great opportunity to promote the development of space technology in our country, as well as tighten the existing strategic partnership between the two countries.

The above programme aims to stimulate in-depth discussions on the potential applications of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technology; especially in important areas such as monitoring climate change and water resources as well as data collection for agriculture.

It is expected that in 2024, the Vietnam National Satellite Centre will launch LOTUSat-1, Vietnam's first SAR satellite. The LOTUSat-1 satellite is capable of taking high-resolution images of the Earth in all weather conditions, day and night.

Image data obtained from this satellite will provide accurate information to meet the urgent need for image sources. Experts can provide timely responses to minimise the impacts of natural disasters, climate change, resource management, and environmental monitoring, thus serving social economic development.