AIR Centre strengthens international space cooperation through RIAE Membership

On October 21, the AIR Centre took part in the General Assembly of the Ibero-American Network of Aerospace Agencies (RIAE), held in Lisbon. An Observer Member of RIAE since 2024, the AIR Centre’s participation reflects its continued commitment to fostering international partnerships in the aerospace domain and strengthening regional collaboration in space activities.

The Assembly served as the constitutive meeting for RIAE, approving the network’s statutes and establishing its governance structure. Ricardo Conde, President of the Portuguese Space Agency (Agência Espacial Portuguesa), was appointed as President of RIAE, with Raúl Kulichevsky, Executive Director of Argentina’s National Space Activities Commission (CONAE), and Luis Alfaro, President and Executive Director of El Salvador’s Aerospace Institute, serving as Vice Presidents.

The Assembly also approved RIAE’s Action Plan for 2025-2026, which focuses on strengthening cooperation among Ibero-American aerospace institutions through mobility programs, capacity building, knowledge exchange, and collaborative projects with social and environmental impact across the region.

As an Observer Member, the AIR Centre is part of a network that includes full members from national aerospace agencies across Latin America, Spain, and Portugal: Agencia Latinoamericana y Caribeña del Espacio, Asociación Chilena Del Espacio de Chile, Laboratorio de Instrumentación Espacial de la Universidad Autónoma del México, Plataforma Aeroespacial Española, Asociación Española de Derecho Aeronáutico y Espacial, Junta de Política Espacial (Uruguay), Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial de España, Red Latinoamericana y del Caribe del Espacio, and PLD Space.

The Ibero-American Network of Aerospace Agencies, coordinated by the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI), aims to identify and promote cooperation opportunities in aerospace matters that generate positive social, economic, educational, and environmental impact throughout the Ibero-American region.