The Millennium Declaration, adopted in September 2000 by all 189 Member States of the United Nations at that time, defines a key framework for global cooperation in the 21st century. The grand vision described in the Declaration addresses issues related to peace, cooperation and development, calling for the eradication of poverty, the promotion of human dignity and equality, and the achievement of peace, democracy and environmental sustainability./p>

Space and space-based technologies offer significant and unique solutions to many of the target goals set by the Millennium Declaration. Additionally, the contribution of space science and technology was also well identified during the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in 2002, where the WSSD Plan of Implementation makes explicit reference to the utilisation of space-based facilities for the support and implementation of sustainable development actions./p>