The 33rd meeting of the Satellite-Aided Search and Rescue Initiative (Cospas-Sarsat Programme) concluded recently.
On the occasion, Commander of the Doha Joint Rescue Co-ordination Center Brigadier-General Mohamed Hamad al-Shahwani said the meeting was successful and that it excelled over the previous meeting in terms of preparation and good organisation as well as the topics, subjects and scientific and technical techniques discussed.
He added that the meeting was praised by the Cospas-Sarsat General Secretariat and the members who participated in the meeting.
The meeting focused on discussing the technical issues related to the development of satellite communication systems and the introduction of new technologies to develop and improve the communications system.
This will speed up the process of communication and locating the target for search and rescue, known as the Second Generation, which will be mandatory by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in the first month of 2021.
A new distress device called the relay system was introduced at the current meeting for the first time.
In addition to the technical papers relating to telecommunications, Qatar has submitted, during the meeting, another official paper to the Cospas-Sarsat Secretariat related to the establishment of  an international training centre specialised in the satellite communication system.
This will be the first international centre specialised in this field, and will be located in Doha.
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