The space industry across Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states is worth more than USD 10 billion in revenue, the bloc's chief Jasem Al-Bedaiwi said on Tuesday, citing the sector as an integral part of national development plans. The space industry's increasing significance and meteoric growth have paved the way for innovative techniques and creative platforms within the sector, the Riyadh-based bloc's chief told an international space forum in the Bahraini capital Manama, the first such gathering seen in the region. Space exploration initiatives have grown in importance in recent times, where total investments in the industry have skyrocketed to some USD 272 billion over the course of the past decade, while Gulf Arab states have successfully forayed into space through the establishment of relevant bodies and institutions, he underlined. On said initiatives, he cited the United Arab Emirates' first mission to Mars as among the most notable, in addition to similar endeavors seen in Bahrain and Saudi A rabia in collaboration with their international partners, the GCC chief added. He went on to mention Gulf Arab astronauts who managed to shoot to fame through successful space missions, chief among them the UAE's Sultan Al-Neyadi, whose spacewalk garnered much fanfare, saying such accomplishments give the region's nationals something to be proud of Source: Kuwait News Agency