On Friday 9 May 2025, a delegation from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) visited ESA’s ESRIN centre in Frascati to strengthen ongoing cooperation under the ESA Global Development Assistance (GDA) programme. The visit marked an important step in advancing joint efforts to promote the use of Earth Observation (EO) data for sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The delegation included Luis Jímenez McInnis (IDB Office in Europe), Fernando Vargas (Senior Specialist in Competitiveness, Technology and Innovation), and Pablo Chiesa (Consultant), with Luis and Pablo representing IDB’s Global Partnerships Office. The visit included a lunch with ESA’s GDA core team, Christoph Aubrecht (programme coordinator), Anika Ruess (EO specialist), and Alex Chunet (EO specialist), followed by a meeting with the same team and Benjamin Koetz, Head of the Long Term Action Section. The day concluded with a visit to the Phi Experience at ESRIN.



A key point of discussion was the potential for closer coordination around the CopernicusLAC initiative. As a flagship component of the EU–LAC Digital Alliance, CopernicusLAC aims to enhance access to Copernicus Earth Observation services across the region. This includes the establishment of regional centres in Chile and Panama to support data storage, processing, and distribution, as well as the Copernicus LAC Academy, which focuses on capacity building and knowledge sharing through collaboration with universities and research institutions.

The purpose of the visit was to draw lessons from previous engagements and explore opportunities to further strengthen the ESA–IDB partnership. Both institutions reaffirmed their intention to continue working together throughout 2025 and to prepare for the next phase of ESA’s GDA’s evolution under the Earth Action programme, starting in 2026.
The initiative is designed to serve key policy areas such as land use monitoring, urban development, ocean observation, and climate change, leveraging improved digital connectivity between Europe and Latin America, particularly via the BELLA cable. The ESA–IDB meeting identified several avenues to align and complement ongoing efforts under CopernicusLAC with the objectives of the ESA GDA programme.

Finally, both sides expressed a shared interest in expanding institutional engagement, specifically, aligning with European ministries to help connect space and development finance, and collaborating with national space agencies in the LAC region through their respective networks.
The visit reaffirmed the shared commitment of ESA and IDB to making EO data more accessible, actionable, and impactful for development planning and policy implementation across Latin America and the Caribbean.