Ten countries signed the Agreement for the Establishment of CSSTEAP during a meeting held on November 1, 1995 at New Delhi. As of today, Seventeen countries have signed the Agreement. In addition to providing a formal UN affiliation to the Centre, UN-OOSA extends support in terms of expert advise, technical assistance and relevant documentation.
The Government of India has concluded a Host Country Agreement with the Centre (March 1998) by which it has accorded specific privileges and international status to the Centre, similar to the privileges enjoyed by UN Specialized Agencies. Under the Host Country Agreement the Centre also has access to facilities, infrastructure and expertise of DOS institutions, including IIRS, SAC and PRL. The Government of India has brought out an official gazette notification in pursuance of the host country agreement.
Administrative Body of CSSTEAP :
Governing Board
CSSTEAP is administered by an international Governing Board consisting of one representative from each Contracting party. The Governing Board elects one of the members as Chairman of the GB. Any other country, international organization or funding agency which has concluded a cooperation agreement with the Centre shall be invited to the meetings of the Governing Board in the capacity of Observers. Currently representatives of UN-OOSA Vienna (Austria) and the International Institute for Geoinformation Science and Earth Observation (ITC), in Enschede, The Netherlands are observers. Director of the Centre acts as Secretary to GB. The Governing Board decides the policy of the Centre, approves its long range plans and annual programmes and the budgets. GB determines the functions and composition of the Advisory Committee.
Advisory Committee
The technical activities of the Centre are guided by an Advisory Committee (AC) consisting of subject experts. Members of the Advisory Committee are nominated by the Governing Board and serve for such a period as may be determined by the Governing Board. AC is chaired by the representative of UN-OOSA and reviews all technical aspects such as curriculum, technical facilities, future directions etc. The deliberations of the AC are reported to GB annually.
Coordination Committee
The Centre has concluded a Host Country Agreement (HCA) with the Government of India for providing the necessary facilities and support to the Centre. With Department of Space (DOS) being the nodal agency to provide support to the Centre, the facilities of various DOS institutions/centres are made available for the educational facilities of the Centre. For proper coordination of the activates of the Centre and liaisoning with the host country, an ISRO/DOS- CSSTEAP Coordination Committee is setup.