The Greek capital this month hosted the world’s leading conference on space research and technology, the latest step in the country’s efforts to develop its space industry and further promote the country’s technology and innovation sectors.

The COSPAR 2022 conference, held in Athens, welcomed more than 2,000 scientists from all over the world, 3,500 scientific papers, and the leaders from most of the world’s major space agencies. The event, the most prestigious of its kind, comes as Greece is fast developing as a technology hub for Southeast Europe.

From tech infrastructure, like data centers and a 5G network, to new startups and R&D centers, Greece is drawing a growing list of leading technologists and investors. And the space industry is an area of growing importance for Greece.

Last year, Amazon Web Services formed a partnership with the Greek government on a number of initiatives that aim to turn the country into a regional space hub. It is the first agreement of its kind for the cloud-computing giant, which has been expanding its global space presence. The collaboration will promote the country’s space economy and support measures to attract and train aerospace professionals.

According to the Hellenic Association of Space Industry, the Greek space industry currently employs 2,500 people and has an annual turnover exceeding €185 million. Most of that turnover is from the export of Greek space products and services abroad. Greece’s space industry has achieved a significant level of technological maturity and has successfully participated in a dozen international space missions.