Beijing, 28 September 2021 (TDI): On the occasion of the official opening ceremony of the Shenzhou-12 capsule at the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), China handed over the flags of Namibia and Pakistan to the ambassadors. For the celebration of 70 years of bilateral relations between China and Pakistan, the Pakistani national flag was sent to the out space by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
The Pakistani Ambassador to China Moin ul Haque received the flag at the ceremony held on 27 September 2021. Ambassador Moin appreciated this way of celebrating Pakistan and China’s ironclad friendship. Regarding space cooperation, he said that both states would enhance their partnership in this area which will advantage both states.
Namibian Ambassador to China, Elia George Kaiyamo, also expressed his feelings at the event and said that receiving a flag on behalf of his country is a unique honor for him.
The Chinese astronauts that came back to earth on the 17 th September 2021 ,carried the Namibian Flag to and from the space (for 3 months) .I had the rare privilege of receiving it official today on behalf of my country pic.twitter.com/cAopxLHAqq
— Elia George Kaiyamo (@EKaiyamo) September 27, 2021
The Shenzhou 12 was a spaceflight belonged to Beijing that was launched on 17 June 2021. After three months of travel in space, it has returned to earth on 17 September. During these 90 days, the spaceflight had flags of Pakistan and Namibia along with some experimental products.
The flags were handed over to the Ambassadors of respective countries and other items are conveyed to the science units for additional examination and study. Under this mission, China aims to construct a Chinese space station.
Besides Pakistan and Namibia’s Ambassador to China, Zhao Xiaojin, Secretary of CAST; Hao Chun, Director-General of CMSA; Yang Liwei, Deputy Chief Designer of China Manned Space Program and other officials were present at the opening ceremony.
