Nigeria and Rwanda have signed the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, Artemis Accord becoming the first and second African countries to do so.
This was done during the US-Africa Space Forum on the side-line of the US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington DC, United States.
The Artemis Accords represent a bold, multilateral vision for the future of space exploration.
Minister @ProfIsaPantami on behalf of Nigeria signed the "Artemis Accord" during the U.S.-Africa Space Leaders Forum taking place in Washington D.C the United States of America.
Nigeria & Rwanda become 22nd & 23rd signatories of the ACCORD & the first 2 in Africa. pic.twitter.com/TpKQlTPQEP— Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim (@ProfIsaPantami) December 13, 2022
The Artemis Accord was signed by Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Pantami who represented Nigeria and Rwanda represented by the Chief Executive Officer of the Rwanda Space Agency, Col Francis Ngabo.
The event’s vision is to leverage outer space to meet shared goals for the US-Africa relationship on Earth, featuring broader Panera discussions on the use of space to support sustainable development goals, capacity building and the role of the private sector in supporting US-Africa partnership.
Launched by the State Department and NASA together with eight nations in 2020, the Artemis Accords advance bilateral and multilateral space cooperation between signatories, expanding our knowledge of the universe and benefiting the whole world.
Signatories commit to principles to guide their civil space activities, including the public release of scientific data, responsible debris mitigation, registration of space objects, and the establishment and implementation of interoperability standards.
Participants in the Forum, which was part of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, discussed how to further shared goals through the peaceful exploration and use of outer space.
The Accords now boast of 23 signatories, spanning every corner of the globe and representing a diverse set of space interests and capabilities.
Through signing the Artemis Accords, Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Poland, Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States have demonstrated their commitment to the peaceful, responsible, and sustainable use of outer space and are leading the global conversation on the future of space exploration.
