BERLIN, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- The 23 member states of the European Space Agency (ESA) have approved a record budget of nearly 22.1 billion euros (25.6 billion U.S. dollars) for the agency's next three-year period on Thursday, in a bid to strengthen Europe's position in global space activities.

The decision was reached during a two-day meeting in the northwestern German city of Bremen. The new allocation also exceeded the previous record budget agreed in 2022, which totalled nearly 17 billion euros.

ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher noted that the approved amount is unusually close to ESA's initial proposal, as negotiated budgets normally end up significantly lower.

Aschbacher said that the record allocation underlines the growing importance of space technologies in daily life as well as in security and defense.

Germany will remain the largest contributor to ESA. German Space Minister Dorothee Baer said the country's contribution will rise by 30 percent to 5.4 billion euros, or about 5.1 billion euros after adjusting for inflation.

"In view of the strained national fiscal situation, this is a very clear signal from the federal government: space is an investment in our future," Baer said. (1 euro = 1.16 U.S. dollar) ■