Signing of a cooperation protocol between the National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences and Damietta Governorate to collaborate on implementing development plans in the governorate.

The chairman of the National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences: "The authority is harnessing all its capabilities to implement projects and research that have economic and social returns".

The Governor of Damietta: "The partnership aims to improve production at the fish farm and implement the smart city project in Ras Al Bar".

The National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences, headed by Dr. Islam Abu Al-Magd, signed a cooperation protocol with the Governorate of Damietta, led by Dr. Ayman Al-Shahabi, to implement developmental plans in the governorate.

The cooperation protocol aims to study and develop the fish farm of the Governorate in order to maximize its economic returns, carry out advanced planning studies for development and provide smart city services, in order to implement this plan in the city of Ras Al Bar.

The signing ceremony for the protocol of cooperation was attended by the authority, Dr. Ashraf Helmy, head of the Data Analysis and Receiving Division, Dr. Safa Hassan, head of the Training Division, Dr. Bassam Abdel Latif, supervisor of the Technical Office,

Dr. Elham Ali, professor of Marine environment in the Environment Division and engineer Omar Ashraf, media official, attended by the governorate, engineer Shaimaa Al-Siddiq, deputy governor of Damietta and Dr. Amr Hanafi, Damietta Governor's Adviser for Space-Information Systems, Supervisor of the Management of Space-Change and the official spokesman for the governorate.

On his part, Dr. Islam Abu Al-magd clarified that the authority is keen on collaborating with various institutions and entities, utilizing all available resources to implement projects and research that yield economic and social benefits. This contributes to support the efforts of the Egyptian state to improve the living standards of citizens by enhancing the quality of services provided to them and bolstering efforts to elevate the national economy.

This aligns with the implementation of the goals and principles of the National Strategy for Higher Education and Scientific Research launched by the ministry in March 2023.

Dr. Ayman Al-Shahabi emphasized his eagerness to collaborate with the authority to support the developmental plans of the governorate and to maximize the optimal use and investment of its resources. He noted that the authority is one of the most important institutions with strong and significant expertise in various scientific fields, which will contribute to supporting development goals. He expressed his hope for a distinguished partnership to enhance the objectives aimed at preparing a plan for the development of the fish farm in Al-Ratma and supporting the field of aquaculture, making the farm a successful model. Additionally, he mentioned the goal of transforming Ras El Bar into one of the smart cities and benefiting from its unique capabilities. He affirmed that the governorate is keen to collaborate with scientific institutions to establish these plans on scientific foundations that significantly contribute to ensuring their success.

Engineer Shaimaa Al-Siddiq confirmed that this partnership is one of the most important collaborations that the governorate has sought to implement, in order to benefit from the authority's expertise in supporting the field of fish farming, and to transform Ras El Bar into a smart city. These efforts will contribute to supporting the comprehensive development axes and Egypt's Vision 2030, as well as maximizing the benefits from the resources and assets that the governorate possesses.

On the sidelines of the signing of the cooperation protocol, a meeting was held between Dr. Islam Abu Al-magd, the head of the National Authority Remote Sensing and Space Sciences, and Dr. Ayman      Al-Shahabi, the governor of Damietta, along with officials from both sides. The discussion focused on ways to enhance the bonds of mutual cooperation and maximize the benefits from the fish farm, as well as providing the necessary support to transform Ras El Bar into a "smart city" by exploring implementation plans for this initiative.

During the meeting, Dr. Ashraf Helmy reviewed the design requirements to transform Ras El Bar into a "smart city" by identifying smart city applications based on priorities and its nature as a tourist city, in order to reach the optimal implementation method. It was agreed to start with four smart services that cater to the city's tourism activities, in addition to what the authority will provide in terms of monitoring phenomena occurring on the beaches.

The meeting also discussed the project for improving sustainable fish production at the fish farm in Al-Ratma. Dr. Elham Ali, the head of the proposed project, presented a plan for the sustainable management of the Al-Ratma fish farms, aiming to maximize their benefits and improve productivity both in quantity and quality. This will be achieved by applying the concept of sustainability using modern information systems and smart management in operating the farm. The fish farm spans an area of 1,857 acres, and the implementation will follow a series of steps, starting with a description of the current situation regarding the state of the aquatic environment in the farm, the surrounding environmental changes, and the state of fish productivity. All studies will be conducted according to modern techniques that will assist in developing the appropriate plan.