During the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Lisbon, the two sides signed MoUs for creation of an India Portugal Space Alliance and for advancing collaborative research. These agreements will promote India’s science and technology partnership with Portugal, towards the establishment of a unique Centre on the Azores Archipelago – the Atlantic International Research Centre.
This Centre will act as a research, innovation and knowledge hub for trans-atlantic and north-south cooperation. An international network of research and academic organizations will be created. The goal is to provide a shared environment to support research and foster new climate, earth, space and marine research.
With respect to space, cooperation is expected to include development and cooperation of next generation nano and micro satellites. On marine sciences, the project would enable India to study the atmospheric and ocean behaviour of the Atlantic and its linkages with weather patterns including the Monsoon.
