The 33rd annual gathering of the Joint Committee of the International Satellite Programme for Search and Rescue, Cospas-Sarsat, took place in Doha, Qatar between the dates 11 and 21 of June. The Republic of Cyprus was represented by the Joint Rescue Coordination Center.

The International Cospas-Sarsat Programme Agreement (ICSPA) allows States to participate in the Programme either as Ground Segment Providers or User States, both being invited to participate at the Programme’s official meetings. Today, 2 International Organizations and 41 States participate in the Programme, including the Republic of Cyprus since 2006.

The mission of Cospas-Sarsat is to provide accurate, timely, and reliable distress alert and location data transmitted from radio beacons in sea, air and ground in order to help search and rescue authorities assist persons in distress. The immediate, automatic distribution of the distress alerts reduces the response time of the SAR authorities, increasing the probability of success of the operations.

For the successful fulfilment of the above mission, the Participants implement, maintain, coordinate and function a Satellite System capable to detect and locate distress alerts anywhere in the world, transmitted by radio beacons compliant to the Programme’s specifications and requirements.

The Republic of Cyprus participates in the Programme as a Ground Segment Provider, having established a Mission Control Center and a Ground Satellite Station.