NIGERIA'S SPACE AGENCY WORKING WITH AMERICAN

UNCLAS ABUJA 002099 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS USDOC FOR 3317/ITA/OA/KBURRESS USDOC FOR 3130/USFCS/OIO/ANESA/DHARRIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TSPA KSCA ETRD BEXP CVIS PGOV NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA'S SPACE AGENCY WORKING WITH AMERICAN COMPANIES SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. ¶1. (U) Summary: The National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) has a growing interest in working with U.S. companies. Emerging areas include possibility of antenna production in-country and telemedicine. The NASRDA Director General visited Embassy recently and received a tutorial on how his staff could better prepare visa applications for training and buying missions to the U.S. This message also describes NASRDA key achievements and goals, which are focused on remote sensing and telecommunications. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) NASDRA DG Robert Boroffice and Deputy Director Ayo Atepola called on the Charge September 24 to describe NASDRA's efforts to work with U.S. companies and how training and sales were sometimes frustrated by nonissuance of visas to visit the U.S. DCM, Econ Chief, and ESTH Officer also attended the meeting. NASDRA is looking to work with the Harris Corporation of Florida to establish a National Geospacial Data Bank, Boroffice said. The space agency is also in discussions with Patriot Antenna Systems of Michigan regarding the possibility of manufacturing antennas in Lagos together with Nigerian commercial partners. Most antennas are currently imported from Dubai or China. NASDRA is also supporting the development of telemedicine in Nigeria, working with American hospitals via DVC. That effort will expand beyond two teaching hospitals in Maiduguri and Ibadan to include more informal health clinics in rural areas. The agency is specifically looking to bring telemedicine to the Niger Delta, to reduce health care costs and support development efforts there. ¶3. (SBU) Boroffice reported that the pending deal with Patriot was proceeding more slowly than anticipated because some of his staff had not been able to visit the U.S. company. Likewise, some of those involved in the telemedicine effort had not been able to obtain visas to train on Hughes equipment in the U.S. NASDRA had paid for other staff to receive NASA training, but had to send them to Italy instead, due to nonissuance of the American visas. ¶4. (SBU) Ambassador Gribbin gave Boroffice and Atepola a quick tutorial on the visa application process, stressing that business travelers needed to apply as individuals well in advance of planned travel, and to provide a clear letter of support from NASDRA as well as a letter of invitation from the American company. Econ Chief told Boroffice that Embassy would do a report of the meeting to serve as a reference for Consular and Commercial colleagues regarding the space agencies efforts to work with U.S. firms. Boroffice noted that most applicants connected with NASDRA apply in Lagos. ¶5. (U) NASDRA has two satellites in the skies and one more in the works. NigeriaSat-1 was launched from Russian in 2003 to share disaster-related data and also provide information on land use, pollution, and landscape changes. NigeriaComsat-1 was launched in May 2007 from China's Sichuan Province and will provide voice, data, video, internet and application services for Africa. NigeriaSat-2 is scheduled for launch in 2009 and will take over remote sensing functions from Sat-1 as the latter's transmissions are expected to end sometime in ¶2008. GRIBBIN