HARARE, January 22. /TASS/. The use of outer space to solve problems of socio-economic development is one of the high-tech areas of partnership between Russia and Zimbabwe, Russian Ambassador to Zimbabwe Nikolay Krasilnikov said in an exclusive interview with TASS.

"The use of outer space to solve problems of socio-economic development is one of the high-tech areas of partnership between Russia and Zimbabwe," he said.

"The National Geospatial and Space Agency, ZINGSA, has been working in Zimbabwe for several years. It focuses on remote sensing of the earth’s surface in interests of agriculture, mining and meteorological research in preparation for disaster relief. The first Zimbabwean satellite was assembled with the help of the Japanese and launched with the assistance of the American NASA. Meanwhile through the state corporation Roscosmos a legal basis was created for cooperation with ZINGSA. We reached an agreement to establish a center of competence for receiving and processing satellite data in Zimbabwe," he added.

"The idea of creating a national air ambulance service in Zimbabwe seems very promising," the ambassador noted.

"In May last year, the general director of the Rostec state corporation, Sergey Chemezov, visited Harare and handed over a batch of ANSAT rotary-wing vehicles supplied by the Russian Helicopters company to President Emmerson Mnangagwa under a commercial contract. The implementation of the project could raise Zimbabwe's healthcare to new heights, putting the country among those few where there is a state system for providing emergency medical care using aviation," the diplomat said.