President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom has said that South Asian Satellite is an example of India's neighbor's first policy. He made this statement addressing the video conference of SAARC head of states which was conducted following the launch of the South Asian Satellite.
After launching the satellite India Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that with this launch, SAARC has started to build a more advanced frontier of cooperation. The South Asian Satellite was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota at 4:57pm this evening. The Geostationary Communication Satellite, will benefit seven out of eight member countries of SAARC, including Maldives, India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. Pakistan had opted out of the project saying it had its own space programme.
img:http://s1.psmnews.mv/images/660x400/14939875154355.jpg|
The cost of the South Asia satellite project is around USD 37 million. It will provide communication and disaster support and connectivity among the countries of South Asia region for approximately 12 years.
After coming to power in May 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked ISRO scientists to develop a SAARC satellite that can be dedicated to neighboring countries as a "gift from India." He made the announcement at the 18th SAARC summit held in 2014.