Putrajaya, 13 December 2012:The Administrator of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Mr. Charles Bolden paid a courtesy call to YB Datuk Seri PanglimaDr. Maximus JohnityOngkili, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) at his office today.
During their 30-minute discussion, Datuk Seri PanglimaDr. Maximus Ongkili and Mr. Bolden discussed on fostering collaboration between MOSTI and NASAinspace education and sciences. They also discussed the Composition, Cloud, Climate Coupling Regional Studies project proposed by NASA last year.
The Ministerinformed Mr Bolden that MOSTI is of the view the project would be beneficial to the scientific community in Malaysia as well as in the ASEAN region. However he pointed out that there are several major concerns that need to be addressed before a decision could be made.In response, the NASA Administrator gave his assurances that NASA officials are ready to work with MOSTI officials to address these issues.
Mr. Bolden is in Malaysia to attendthe 19th Asia Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF-19) held from 12 to 13 December 2012 in Kuala Lumpur.