It was with great honour that the Matera Space Centre welcomed the Japanese Ambassador to Italy, H.E. Suzuki Satoshi, together with a delegation from the Embassy composed of Masahiro Oyama and Masahiro Nakade.

The visit began with a welcome from the CEO of e-GEOS, C. Milena A. Lerario, together with institutional representatives from the territory and the Italian Space Agency:

· Antonio Nicoletti, mayor of Matera

· Cristina Favilli, prefect of Matera

· Michele Busciolano, director general of digital administration for the Basilicata Region

· Lorenzo Chessa, director of security, IT systems and digitalisation for the Italian Space Agency

The meeting opened with a presentation by C. Milena A. Lerario, who outlined the e-GEOS activities and development prospects of the Leonardo Space Division. At the heart of her speech was Matera as a strategic hub for Earth observation at an international level: a place where advanced infrastructure, high-performance technologies and know-how converge to provide essential services in major Space programmes.

The delegation then visited the e-GEOS (a joint venture between ASI and Telespazio) Space Centre, guided by its director Stefano Micheli, gaining an insight into its core operational activities. At the Matera Remote Sensing Centre, some of the e-GEOS most relevant services were presented, in particular in the domains of maritime surveillance and natural emergency management. The distinctive approach of e-GEOS was highlighted, grounded in the integration of very high-resolution satellite data, innovative algorithms and outstanding expertise, capable of generating concrete and timely solutions to address global challenges. These capabilities were illustrated

by Domenico Iacovone, deputy head of operations at the Matera Space Centre and Head of the Geodesy Operations Unit, and David Sarrocco, space and geodetic data analyst.

The visit continued at the Italian Space Agency's “Giuseppe Colombo” Space Geodesy Centre, where the delegation was welcomed by the Centre's director, Cosimo Marzo, for an overview of geodesy and precision observation activities. The day ended in the ASI Control Room, with a presentation by Daniele Santese, deputy head of the Centre and Manager of Operations and In-Orbit Support for the COSMO-SkyMed satellite constellation. Here, the operational activities of the ground segment of the mission, which is developed by the Italian Space Agency and the Italian Ministry of Defence, for which e-GEOS is the exclusive data concessionaire for commercial users, were illustrated.

“It was a great honour to welcome His Excellency Suzuki Satoshi and the delegation from the Japanese Embassy in Italy to our Space Centre in Matera. Italy and Japan share a vision of the future, deep values and common ambitions in the Space domain. The growing dialogue between our countries recognises that global challenges cannot be tackled alone: international cooperation is the key to transforming vision into reality. It is from meetings such as this that new avenues of collaboration can emerge, capable of looking beyond the horizon and generating a real impact on climate, security and land management", said C. Milena A. Lerario, CEO of e-GEOS. "I would also like to thank the local institutions for their participation, which demonstrates how much this region believes in Matera's Space vocation and in the strategic role that the Centre plays in the growth of the region and the entire country. Here, innovation takes concrete shape everyday thanks to the work of our teams: from Matera, that value spreads, generating a real impact for the community and for the national and international Space ecosystem."

"At the agency level, ASI and JAXA share a strong and long-standing partnership, based on the 2010 framework agreement and the 2020 implementation protocol on Earth observation and space exploration. Our collaboration also extends through ESA, which plays a central role in many of our joint scientific missions," said Lorenzo Chessa, director of security, IT systems and digitalisation at ASI. "Overall, Italy and Japan are collaborating on eight scientific missions, three exploration missions and important Earth observation activities. These include the exchange of satellite data and joint emergency observations using the Japanese ALOS-2 and Italian COSMO-SkyMed systems. We are currently preparing further collaborations for new applications, research initiatives and cutting-edge environmental monitoring."