GLOBAL CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: GIVE SPACE A CHANCE
At the IAC 2019, the IAF General Assembly selected Baku, Azerbaijan, as Host city for IAC 2022 from Azercosmos. Following the growing escalation of the Covid-19 outbreak around the world, the IAF has been forced to re-assess the overall schedule of IACs. On Wednesday 3 June 2020, an extraordinary session of the Bureau of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) was chaired by Pascale Ehrenfreund, IAF President. The Bureau reviewed the calendar of the forthcoming editions of the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in light of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdown. Baku, Azerbaijan will now host the IAC on 2-6 October 2023
Holding the Congress under the theme Global Challenges and Opportunities: Give Space a Chance in Azerbaijan’s capital will make a significant contributions to the establishment of closer ties with foreign space agencies, companies and organizations, to the development of human capital. During this Congress, Azerbaijan will bring together over 6,000 representatives of the space industry for the first time in its history.
It should be noted that Baku received the right to host the IAC 2023 thanks to the special contribution made by a number of institutions, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the State Tourism Agency and Azerbaijan Convention Bureau, Heydar Aliyev Center and Baku Congress Center. The city of Baku stood out from the competition thanks to its successful promotional activities, a professional presentation of the country’s tourism potential and organizational capabilities.
There is a rich history behind holding IAC in Azerbaijan. The 24th International Astronautical Congress was held in Baku in 1973 for the first time in the Soviet Union upon the initiative of Azerbaijan’s National Leader Heydar Aliyev.