A team of delegates from the Rwanda Space Agency (RSA), led by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of RSA, Francis Ngabo, were hosted by the President of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Yamakawa Hiroshi and the Vice-President of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Iwasaki Eiji, during a week-long strategic visit to enhance the space partnership between Rwanda and Japan.

On the sidelines of the delegation visit, the parties discussed opportunities, collaborations and the utilisation of space technologies for mutual benefits and the advancements of their space sectors for socio-economic development.

Rwanda and Japan have long-standing historical partnerships, fostering accelerated industrial growth in Rwanda. The two nations signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) in 2018 to collaborate on space technologies, emphasising knowledge and technology transfer for producing small satellites. This consequently resulted in the launch of Rwanda’s first satellite, the RWASAT-1.

Furthermore, Japan’s space development programme has produced tremendous breakthroughs in recent years by combining technological capabilities and expertise, which RSA aims to benefit from to advance its space ecosystem.