The Israel-Hamais War has injected uncertainty into the world economy and is testing foreign relations across the globe.

The United Arab Emirates was the first Gulf Country to normalize relations with Israel in 2020 and its president the first Arab leader

to speak with Israel's prime minister following the attack by Hamas. The two countries have

an innovation partnership and through the broader I2 U2 block with the U.S. and India,

recently announced a space venture.

That relationship, at least as of now, is not likely to change.

The space sector for us is not part of a geopolitical movement.

So most of our partnerships today in space and also in science and technology need to remain ongoing

regardless of any political situation.

So we're not holding back on anything.

The current partnerships that we have in place are continuing down the line.

And creating new opportunities for collaboration and coordination needs to continue down the line.

Her Excellency, Sarah Al-Amiri, is the UAE's Minister for Public Education and Advanced Technology.

In 2020, at the age of 35, she was appointed chairwoman of the country's space

agency or the equivalent of NASA administrator.

UA-E-S-A is one of the youngest space agencies in the world, less than a decade old.

But it's making up for lost time, spending over $6 billion as it strikes partnerships,

engages commercial space companies, and invests in its own homegrown pool of talent.

The agency has so far sent two Emirati astronauts to space and, spearheaded by Al-Amiri,

became the first Arab country, too, with a Hope probe, enter Mars

orbit on the first try. On this episode, we dive into the agency's rapid growth, deep space ambitions,

and navigation of geopolitical tensions.

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