Maram Kairé, Director General of Senegal’s Agency for Space Studies (ASES), has been advancing partnerships to grow the Euro-African space economy, using high-level international forums to position Senegal as a hub for space cooperation between Africa and Europe.At the Africa Space Expo in Abidjan in September, Kairé participated in a high-level panel dedicated to partnerships for the Euro-African space economy, where discussions focused on the needs of institutions, access to markets and the conditions for sustainable cooperation. The panel brought together African space agency leaders and international partners to explore how greater cooperation between African space agencies and European industry could support the development of local capabilities and strengthen Africa’s ability to use space technologies for economic and social development.
Kairé’s engagement at the Abidjan expo included bilateral discussions with the heads of the space agencies of Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria, alongside meetings with representatives from the US State Department and NASA, the UAE Space Agency, and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) accompanied by GIZ. The series of meetings reflects ASES’s approach of maintaining ties with partners with extensive space experience while strengthening relations between agencies across the continent.
Senegal’s space ambitions have gained momentum through a series of strategic partnerships, including the signing of the Artemis Accords with NASA, a strategic agreement with the European Space Agency and France’s CNES, and membership in China’s International Lunar Research Station project. The country also launched GaindeSat-1A, its first national satellite, in August 2024, and joined the Space4Ocean Alliance.
Kairé has called for a comprehensive, long-term approach to developing the space sector, stressing that building a national space industry cannot be achieved through isolated actions or short-term projects. He argued that space investments should be integrated into broader development programmes rather than treated as separate initiatives, and that cooperation between African countries is essential given the high costs and specialised skills required.
The Senegalese agency’s push for Euro-African cooperation comes as African space agencies and French industry explore deeper collaboration on space sovereignty, technical capacity and private-sector development across the continent. For Senegal, the focus is on turning diplomatic momentum into concrete projects, infrastructure and training that build sustainable, homegrown space capabilities.
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