Ambassador Mohammed Kabir, former Registrar of the Surveyors Council of Nigeria, on Friday joined his colleagues to cut the tape to inaugurate the World Geospatial Information Home (WGIH), in Deqing, China.

The WGIH was inaugurated under the auspices of the United Nations Global Geospatial Knowledge and Innovation Centre (UNGGKIC), also in Deqing, China.

A statement from the WGIH indicated that the Home was built to promote global cooperation and partnership in the geospatial industry.

It also promotes collaboration in universal research and innovation and engages in the dissemination of geospatial information for the benefit of the global community.

Together with the inauguration of the Home, the International Volunteer Service Federation for Global Geospatial Information Management (GGIM), was also launched.

It is expected to augment the attainment of the objectives of establishing the WGIH.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the event was jointly organised by Geospatial Industry Development Centre of Huzhou Moganshan High-Tech zone, and Deqing Association for Geospatial Information Professionals.

More than 60 participants from the field of surveying, mapping and geospatial information from various countries attended the activity.

Among the countries are Nigeria, China, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia and UK.

Others are Germany, Turkey, Pakistan, Iran and Bolivia.

Keynote speeches were delivered by Prof. Guefei Jing, Deputy Director, Regional Centre of Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and Pacific.

Malam Kabir, who is also the Chairperson of the International Federation of Surveyors-Africa Regional Network, and Ambassador of African Union Agenda 2063, also delivered a keynote address.

Dr Nicholas Hamm, Associate Professor of Geospatial Data Science at the University of Nottingham, Ningbo, China, also delivered a keynote address.

The speeches focused on cross-regional cooperation in spatio-temporal biodata as well as AU agenda 2063.

Other areas included China-Africa geospatial information cooperation as well as spatial data science education.

The statement enjoined professionals in the surveying sector to join the International Volunteer Service so as to contribute their quota to global peace and prosperity through the GGIM. (NAN)

Edited by Polycarp Auta