Slovakia is seeking associate membership in the European Space Agency (ESA) as of January next year with plans to ask for fully-fledged membership as soon as possible, Education, Science, Research and Sport Minister Dušan Čaplovič said on Monday.
According to him at least 23 Slovak companies are interested in establishing cooperation with the ESA. “While the associate membership fee is worth €1.5 million, this is a small amount of money compared to benefits that it yields. This is because Slovak companies wouldn't only be involved in theoretical research, but would also be engaged in more lucrative applied and innovative research that brings profit”, he said.
Anca Dragu
