Sheikh Hasina said she is very happy to be able to talk to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi again. "I'm also happy to share this platform today with my esteemed colleagues from Afghanistan, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka," she said. The prime minister congratulated Narendra Modi and the government of India for successful launching of South Asia Satellite. "I'm glad that just a few days ago we have signed Orbital Frequency Agreement for cooperation in South Asia Satellite," she said. Sheikh Hasina thanked the Indian premier and the government for extending warm hospitality to her and the Bangladesh delegation during her state visit to India from April 7-10. "The bilateral talks and documents signed during the visit demonstrate the depth and dimension of our relationship," she said. The premier wished the South Asian leaders good health, happiness and long life, and the friendly people of this region peace, progress and prosperity. Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, PM's Adviser HT Imam, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, State Minister for Post and Telecommunication Tarana Halim were present at Ganabhaban. The Indian prime minister said with the launch of the satellite, the South Asian nations have started a journey to build the most advanced frontier of partnership. "Our coming together is a sign of our unshakeable resolve to place the needs of our peoples in the forefront. It shows that our collective choices for our citizens will bring us together for: cooperation, not conflict; development, not destruction; and prosperity not poverty," he said. Modi said: "As governments, our most important task is to secure growth, development and peace for our people and communities. And, I am convinced that when we join hands and mutually share the fruits of knowledge, technology and growth, we can speed up our development and prosperity." The Indian premier said Sabka Sath, Sabka Bikash (everybody's company will help in everybody's growth) can be the guiding light for action and cooperation in South Asia. "And, a befitting way for us to achieve our shared priorities of economic prosperity for our people. And in this, you will find a strong and committed partner in India that truly believes in the strength of this choice and principle," he said. Modi said two years ago, India made a promise to extend the advanced space technology for the cause of growth and prosperity of our brothers and sisters in South Asia. "The successful launch of the South Asia Satellite marks the fulfilment of that. With this launch we have started a journey to build the most advanced frontier of our partnership," he said. With its position high in the sky, Modi said, this symbol of South Asian cooperation would meet the aspirations of economic progress of more than one-and-a-half billion people in our region. "And, extend our close links into Outer Space."Launch of South Asia Satellite is a first of its kind project with several benefits for our region. History was created with today's launch.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 5, 2017
India Successfully launches South Asia Satellite GSAT-9https://t.co/v9TC9LxCeF pic.twitter.com/QulTnOgttU— ISRO (@isro) May 5, 2017The Indian premier thanked the South Asian leaders for joining him today to celebrate the launch of South Asia Satellite. "And, also your strong and continuous support in making this vision a reality. I also wish all of us more such celebrations where we can rejoice in success of our common and collective efforts for regional growth and prosperity." Modi said space technology will touch the lives of the people in the region. "The satellite would provide services specific to individual countries as per their own needs and priorities, as also common services," he said. Earlier, India launched the South Asia Satellite or GSAT-9 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh today. The lift-off mass of about 2,230kg includes the satellite and its launch vehicle. The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) developed the satellite that will bring South Asian nations closer. Seven out of the eight SAARC countries are a part of the project, as Pakistan decided to opt out stating "it has its own space programme." The satellite will provide telecommunications link between India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. Each country can beam its own TV programs while there will be the possibility for a common South Asia programming. The mainframe of the satellite is cuboid in shape, built around a central cylinder. The mission life is 12 years and it cost Rs 235 crore The GSAT-9 is a Geostationary Communication Satellite and data from it will be shared with the other five countries. It will help to meet the growing telecommunications and broadcasting needs of the region. All participating nations will have access to at least one transponder using which they can telecast their own programming. The countries will develop their own ground-level infrastructure. The satellite took almost three years to build, would boost services such as telecommunication, direct-to-home, telemedicine, tele-education and other supporting systems in these countries. The satellite is also expected to help support their water conservation initiatives, by providing data, forecasting weather and sending alerts on natural disasters. With GSAT-09, South Asian countries can also save the investment they would have had to make on developing a communication satellite and launching it. However, they have to make their own ground station to crunch data from the 12 Ku-band transponders in the satellite.
