The International Symposium on the Peaceful Use of Space Technology – Health (IPSpace 2025) opened on December 9, 2025 in Hainan province, China under the theme “One Space, One Shared Home”. Organized by the International Peace Alliance, the event brought together policymakers and experts to explore how space technologies can advance socio-economic development and healthcare delivery.
Piao Yangfan, Deputy Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, addressed members of the symposium presidium and called for a shared vision of a community with a shared future for humanity, advancing dialogue on the idea “One Earth. One Family. One Future.” She stressed the SCO position that outer space must remain free of weapons and that international actors should adhere to the existing legal framework ensuring the exclusively peaceful use of space.
Piao underscored that scientific and technological innovation is central to sustainable development and that countries of the Global South must participate on equal footing in open and equitable cooperation. Delegates discussed concrete ways that space technologies can help close the digital divide, strengthen disaster relief, support climate response and enhance emergency medicine and telemedicine capabilities.
The SCO reiterated its readiness to work with interested countries and international organizations, including the United Nations, to improve global governance and the regulatory framework for outer space. On the sidelines of the symposium, Piao Yangfan met with Luo Ge, Chairman of the China Association of Remote Sensing and co-chair of the event, to discuss further scientific collaboration.
For Pakistan, the conversations at IPSpace 2025 point to tangible opportunities: deploying space technologies to expand telemedicine in remote districts, improving early warning systems for floods and earthquakes, and pursuing research partnerships that bridge capacity gaps. As international cooperation around peaceful space use grows, Pakistan stands to benefit from programmes that link satellite data, healthcare delivery and disaster resilience.
