Serbia and China to jointly launch satellite for agricultural and scientific purposes

Serbian Minister of Agriculture Dragan Glamocic stated yesterday that Serbia supported the launch of the first satellite for agricultural and scientific purposes with China.

– Serbia is sincerely interested in Chinese technologies and we believe that precisely in the combination of science, innovation and practical application there is significant potential for joint development and mutual benefit. Serbia strongly supports the joint launch of the first satellite for agricultural and scientific purposes into orbit as soon as possible, given its exceptional importance for the application of modern technologies in agriculture, forestry and water management, especially in the areas of remote sensing, crop monitoring, water and forest resource management, as well as the improvement of early warning systems – said Glamocic, who hosted a delegation from the Chinese Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT).

Special emphasis in the conversation was placed on food technologies, for which representatives of the Harbin Institute of Technology expressed interest in developing and implementing them in Serbia.

Glamocic called on Chinese companies to invest in the Serbian food sector and use Serbia as a production and export base for placement in markets with which Serbia has free trade agreements, including the European Union countries, China, the United Arab Emirates and Russia.

As highlighted, the Harbin Institute of Technology is one of the leading technical universities in the world, which is among the four most important institutions in the field of advanced technologies according to global rankings.

Representatives of the Harbin Institute of Technology pointed to the rich experience of this scientific institution in the development and launch of satellites, as well as in the application of artificial intelligence in agriculture.

It was particularly emphasized that space technologies could directly contribute to the development of precision agriculture, digitalization of the agricultural sector, soil and vegetation analysis, as well as more efficient use of natural resources.

In this regard, the conversation discussed opportunities for joint scientific research projects and the development of technological platforms, the statement said.

The Harbin Institute of Technology, which operates under the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, was founded in 1920 and in 1954 was listed among the top six universities in the national key university development program, earning it the reputation of the Cradle of Engineers.

In 2000, it merged with Harbin University of Architecture to form the new Harbin Institute of Technology.

The university has three campuses, 79 undergraduate programs and 39 master’s programs. The university has educated 124 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, 173 university secretaries and presidents, 149 provincial-level and above managers, 54 generals of China, and more than a thousand chief designers in the fields of aviation and national defense.

In recent years, it has focused on educating four categories of top talents: academic masters, engineering giants, industry leaders, and management pillars.

The university currently employs 25 full-time academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, as well as one foreign academician.

It has produced 434 winners of national top talent awards and 487 winners of national young talent awards, according to the Serbian Ministry of Agriculture.

Ministarstvo poljoprivrede, šumarstva i vodoprivrede Republike Srbije

Harbin Institute of Technology

Dragan Glamočić

satellite for agricultural and scientific purposes