By unanimous decision of the countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Kazan was awarded the status of the cultural capital of the Islamic world in 2026. The OIC is the largest and most authoritative Muslim organization in the world, in which the Russian Federation participates as an observer. One of the key tasks of the OIC is to strengthen Islamic solidarity in various fields, including culture, science (this is done by the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - ISESCO) and space exploration.
The Islamic Network on Space Sciences and Technology (ISNET) was established in 1987 and is a division of COMSTECH (the acronym stands for the OIC Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation). ISNET has 17 Muslim member states and is coordinator of the network, the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission of Pakistan (SUPARCO), which provides staff, facilities, and administrative and logistical support.
ISNET headquarters are located in Islamabad. It is important to note that ISNET is a non-political and non-profit organization that actively cooperates with intergovernmental organizations, such as the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO). Thus, in November 2024, a symposium was held in the United Arab Emirates on challenges in space communications. In addition to APSCO, the University of Sharjah and the Arab Union of Astronomy and Space Sciences took part in the event.
Essential technological projects of ISNET were the satellites PakTES-1A and PRSS-1. While the first SUPARCO was developed independently, the second device was purchased by this organization from the China Academy of Space Technology. Both satellites were launched on July 9, 2018, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China using a Long March 2C launch vehicle. The satellites are used not only to monitor the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a large-scale infrastructure project, but also for environmental research of natural resources.
Modelling of terrain changes based on satellite sensing, various types of mapping and monitoring of agricultural crops for decision-making in the field of food security of Member States, as well as digitalization of agriculture using drones. ISNET not only invites to joint implementation of these and many other projects, but also organizes numerous educational seminars.
In 2024 alone, the following were held: “Workshop on the Use of Space Technologies for Disaster Prevention” jointly with the Iranian Space Agency; an online course on the use of artificial intelligence in precision agriculture in cooperation with the Inter-Islamic Network on Information Technology (INIT); a training course on “Development and Use of Radar for Measuring Water Levels from Space”; and a joint course with the Iranian Space Technology Center (ISRC) on “Crop Type and Area Assessment Using Satellite Data”.
One of the latest ISNET initiatives was an invitation to participating countries to implement a unique project. In February 2025, China and Pakistan signed an agreement on the selection and training of Pakistani astronauts for a flight on the Chinese space station “Tiangong”. These astronauts will conduct experiments in orbit, the ideas for which will be developed by young scientists from ISNET participating countries. These are 17 states: Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and Turkey, as well as Pakistan.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
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