30/06/2023 (Agence Europe) – On Friday, 30 June, the European Commission and the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) signed a cooperation arrangement aiming to strengthen collaboration in the area of Earth observation. According to the European Commission, this arrangement will facilitate the reciprocal exchange of satellite data and encourage its use and application in addressing societal challenges of common interest, such as the long-term management of natural resources, climate impact mitigation, and disaster risk reduction. In the context of this arrangement, the PhilSA intends to set up a data hub to distribute data and information from the Copernicus Sentinel satellites across the region and support pilot projects that use Copernicus. The arrangement will also serve as a basis for implementing a Copernicus capacity-building programme for the Philippines—a programme that will be funded by the European Commission. (CG)