Luxembourg is one of the countries attending a summit Thursday and Friday regarding the creation of an international research centre on Terceira Island in the Azores.

The Grand Duchy is one of 29 nations at the “Atlantic Interactions” meeting where more than 200 participants are expected.

The conference preparatory debate should result in a plan for the set-up of the “Atlantic International Research Centre”, aimed at research with practical applications in the areas of climate, oceans, atmosphere, renewable energy, space and data processing.

The Azores archipelago is considered a region with the potential to host an aerospace port, and could be a strategic partner for the Luxembourg space agency, currently being created by the government.

Representatives of governments, companies and academic and scientific institutions should all be present at the summit.

The list of speakers includes the Director-General of the European Space Agency (ESA), Johann-Dietrich Woerner, as well as Science and Technology Ministers from South Africa, Nigeria and Senegal.

In addition to Luxembourg, delegations from the following countries are also in attendance: Angola, Argentina, Bulgaria, Brazil, Canada, Cape Verde, China, Colombia, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Romania, South, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Uruguay and the United States.

The European Commission and Parliament, as well as the United Nations, will also be represented.

The summit programme includes many workshops including space exploration, which Luxembourg has a keen interest in.