Russia to help send Saudi astronaut to space

Riyadh: Saudi and Russian space agencies have agreed to send a Saudi astronaut to the International Space Station, a Saudi newspaper reported Tuesday, citing a Russian official.

Head of the Russian space agency Roscomos Demitry Rogozin said that both institutions had signed a comprehensive cooperation pact including the dispatch of the astronaut to the station, Okaz newspaper added.

No specific date has been set for the mission.

The accord was among a set of cooperation agreements covering a wide array of fields signed during Russian President Vladmir Putin’s visit on Monday, his first to Saudi Arabia in 12 years.

In April, Chairman of the Saudi Space agency Prince Sultan Bin Salman visited Russia where he toured space institutions, including a centre for astronauts’ training.