MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AFRICA UAE Expansion into Space Yields Positive Earthly Results

OE Watch Commentary: The UAE has become the first Arab nation to join the race towards reaching Mars via its successful Mars probe launch and is already benefiting from this . As evident from local media in Japan, China and the UAE, kickstarting the Emirates’ has enhanced mutual relations with China and will serve as an inspiration for future generations of Emirati youth to pursue “future sciences.” In July 2020, Japanese helped carry the first UAE made H-IIA (Hope) probe orbiter mission to Mars. This successful launch was done by a private engineering company, which has conducted other launches for various foreign countries over the years. As stated in The Japan Times, “the Emirati project is one of three racing to Mars, along with Tianwen-1 from China…, taking advantage of a period when the Earth and Mars are closest.” This is only the beginning for the UAE’s ambitious plans UAE Vice President, Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mohammed_Bin_Rashid_Al_Maktoum_at_the_World_Economic_Forum_Summit_on_the_Global_Agenda_2008_2.jpg CCA SA for space, as they also plan to send an unarmed 2.0 Generic to the moon in 2024. According to the Global Times China, space exploration serves to expand scientific research and diversify the UAE’s economy, which remains heavily dependent upon oil exports. Joining the UAE’s space initiatives with China’s Tianwen-1 Mars project has expanded relations between the two nations. In August 2020, Global Times China reports that the UAE Ambassador to China stated that he sees “…great potential for cooperation … [ as they move] humanity to further levels of advancement.” This cooperation centers upon the Beijing-based China Academy of (CAST) and the UAE space agency. Alongside international benefits, the Hope project is helping to push UAE youth towards sciences related to this industry, contributing towards continued future economic success. As highlighted in the Khaleej Times, Sheikh Mohammed of the UAE has stated that “space industries have become a major nerve in the UAE’s economic system, in sync with the goals of the National Space Strategy launched by the government in 2019.” As the first Arab country to launch a successful interplanetary mission, the UAE will serve as an example to the other surrounding Arab nations. As the third excerpt emphasizes, the UAE ambassador mentioned that he believes the UAE space mission “will reignite the Arab world’s enthusiasm in science, and more engagement with the solar system.” End OE Watch Commentary (Jaradat)

“Reports of increasing private gun ownership among radical Islamist Salafi groups have shed light on the risks of rising Salafism and individual armament in Turkey.”

Source: “Japan launches first Arab space mission to Mars,”The Japan Times, 20 July 2020. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/07/20/ national/science-health/japan-arab-mars-mission/

Japan reports of its involvement in the UAE’s historic Mars launch via the private Japanese company, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. from Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture. This initiative works in hand with global efforts to send humans to Mars one day. The Hope probe will not land on Mars, but rather the planet for a whole Martian year. “The UAE already has nine functioning in orbit, with plans to launch another eight in coming years,” the article stated. …the Emirati project is one of three racing to Mars, along with Tianwen-1 from China…, taking advantage of a period when the Earth and Mars are closest…

OE Watch | November 2020 61 MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AFRICA Continued: UAE Expansion into Space Yields Positive Earthly Results

Source: “Young Emiratis switch to ‘future sciences’ thanks to space missions,” Khaleej Times, 11 October 2020. https://www.khaleejtimes. com/news/government/young-emiratis-switch-to-future-sciences-thanks-to-space-missions-

…His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum touches on the importance the newly explored space initiative of the UAE will have on its future economy and youth. He believes that it will “...provid[e] support to Emirati entrepreneurs and encourag[e] young people to enter new economic fields represents a fundamental approach in the framework of establishing our position in the future industries sector… space industries have become a major nerve in the UAE’s economic system, in sync with the goals of the National Space Strategy launched by the government in 2019.”

Source: “China, UAE eye space ties after launching Mars probes: envoy,” Global Times China, 6 August 2020. https://www.globaltimes.cn/ content/1196978.shtml

…UAE ambassador to China sees potential strong relations in the space industry between the UAE and China and future collaborative efforts with their space agencies. Despite countries like China and the US launching initiatives to Mars, it is stated that “...the UAE is focused on its own development and does not see itself as involved in a space competition…. and will reignite the Arab world’s enthusiasm in science, and more engagement with the solar system.”

Book Review: A Look Back and Forward at Turkey’s “Strategic Depth” Foreign Policy Doctrine Karen Kaya February 2020

“Strategic Depth (Stratejik Derinlik)” is a Turkish book published in 2001. This was a time when international relations theorists were describing new frameworks of world order and security modalities following the end of the Cold War and bi-polar world. Works such as Francis Fukuyama’s “End of History” and Samuel Huntington’s “Clash of Civilizations” were icons of this intellectual period. It was in this context of a changing international system that Turkish International Relations Professor Ahmet Davutoğlu (who later served as Foreign Minister between 2009-2014 and Prime Minister between 2014-2016) attempted to define Turkey’s position in his book “Strategic Depth.” From around 2002 to 2012, the foreign policy that Davutoğlu outlined in his book was considered the doctrine and roadmap for Turkish foreign policy. https://community.apan.org/wg/tradoc-g2/fmso/m/fmso-monographs/309386

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