Speech of High Commissioner at the launch of ShaktiSAT poster

Distinguished representatives of the RSTP, esteemed partners from government, industry and academia, dear students and friends,

It is an honour and privilege to join you for the launch of the poster for Mission ShaktiSAT here in the Kingdom of Eswatini. This ceremony celebrates not only a pioneering space initiative, but also the shared aspirations of India and Eswatini for technology, innovation and women-led development.

Mission ShaktiSAT, led by SpaceKidz India, is an ambitious global programme to train thousands of high-school girls from around the world in space technology and satellite design, culminating in the launch of an all‑girls spacecraft to a lunar orbiter under the Chandrayaan‑4 mission. Eswatini’s decision to join this initiative, and to recruit and train 108 girls as part of ShaktiSAT and related programmes, sends a powerful message that the next frontier in science and technology will be shaped by young women from Eswatini as much as from any other region.

India and Eswatini already enjoy a warm and friendly partnership, rooted in South–South cooperation and a shared belief in the transformative power of education and capacity-building. Over the years, Eswatini professionals and students have benefited from scholarships and technical training opportunities in India, including under flagship programmes such as the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation initiative. Today, through ShaktiSAT, this cooperation is literally reaching for the moon by opening space science to the daughters of Eswatini.

This mission is also about values. It stands for inclusion, for social justice and for a future in which girls are not left behind in the great technological revolutions of our time. By giving girls hands‑on exposure to spacecraft systems, payload design and problem‑solving, ShaktiSAT is nurturing confidence, leadership and teamwork—skills that will serve these young women whether they become engineers, scientists, entrepreneurs or policymakers.

The partnership behind ShaktiSAT showcases what can be achieved when governments, educational institutions and private innovators work together. The support extended by stakeholders in Eswatini, including leaders who have championed women in STEM, is helping to ensure that talented girls from across the country can participate and excel. On the Indian side, organisations like SpaceKidz India are leveraging experience from previous student-built satellites to create a truly global classroom in space technology.

For India, it is a matter of pride that this mission carries the name “Shakti” – strength – and that this strength is being shared with friends across continents. For Eswatini, it is an opportunity to position its youth at the forefront of a new era of African participation in outer space. Together, we are demonstrating that advanced science is not the privilege of a few, but a field where every motivated girl can find her place.

As we launch this poster today, we also launch new dreams. The images and ideas it carries will, I hope, inspire many more families to encourage their daughters to reach for the stars. In a few years’ time, when ShaktiSAT orbits the moon, we will be able to say with pride that girls from India and Eswatini helped to build and guide it.

Let this be the first of many such ventures. India remains committed to walking alongside Eswatini as a trusted partner—in space, in science, and in all areas where our cooperation can uplift our peoples. May ShaktiSAT be a beacon of hope to every girl who looks up at the night sky and dares to imagine her own place among the stars.

Thank you.