On the second day of the NewSpace Africa Conference in Luanda, Angola, stakeholders from the United States of America and African governments, civil society, and industry engaged in a high-level discussion to foster space partnerships and commerce.

The session built upon critical takeaways from previous meetings between both parties, which have positively assessed the potential for space activities to impact people’s lives across geographical and financial boundaries. Previous meetings include the US-Africa Commercial Space Stakeholders Meeting in October 2023, the US-Africa Space Forum in December 2022, and various sector-specific webinars and programmes addressing clean energy and climate change.

This session featured distinguished speakers from both regions, including H.E. Prof Mohamed Belhocine, the Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation at the African Union Commission; Hon Don Graves, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce; Gabriel Swiney, Director of the Policy, Advocacy, and International Division at the Office of Space Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce; Rose Croshier, Office of Space Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce; Dr Tidiane Ouattara, Chair of the Africa Space Council at the African Union Commission; Rosalie Daniels, Foreign Affairs Officer at the Office of Space Affairs (OES/SA), U.S. Department of State; Lt Col Matthew Collins, Liaison to U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM), U.S. Space Command; Dr Danielle Wood, U.S. Programme Lead at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Dr Zolana Joao, General Manager of the Angolan Management Office for the National Space Programme (GGPEN); Heather McLeod, Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S. International Trade Administration, U.S. Embassy Luanda, Angola; Charity Weeden, Associate Administrator at the Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy (OTPS), NASA; and Meshack Ndirutu, Space Applications Trainer at ESTI-AUC. 

Gabriel Swiney commenced the session by highlighting the commitment of the US government to the African space programme and the substantial participation from most space stakeholders in African states. Following his speech, Don Graves, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, conveyed a message. Graves emphasised the significance of space commerce in fostering the growth of the space economy. He underscored its crucial role in generating meaningful benefits and enabling African entrepreneurs and countries to utilise space-based tools for governance effectively. Graves stated that the USA is interested in discussing the economic, sustainability, and developmental benefits of space.

He highlighted ongoing space-related infrastructure projects, such as the Lobito Corridor project involving Congo, Zambia, and Angola. The project received funding from the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) and the EU. Space intelligence is crucial for various sectors, including traffic management and agricultural productivity.

Professor Mohammed’s speech was followed by a video clip featuring Bill Nelson, who emphasised the critical need for collaboration to achieve mutual benefits and interests between America and Africa. He highlighted potential areas for collaboration and partnership to strengthen relationships. Nelson also stressed the importance of leveraging space-based technologies to promote infrastructural growth in agriculture and establish early warning systems. He emphasised the abundance of opportunities and businesses available in space.

Following Nelson’s speech, Rose Croshier moderated a panel discussion featuring Gabriel Swiney, Rosalie Daniels, Charity Weeden, and Lt Col Matthew Collins. The panellists examined US space activities through four lenses: Diplomacy, Commercial Cooperation and Trade, Space Development, and US Space Security. Each panellist outlined initiatives, objectives, workshops, and goals contributing to the African space ecosystem from various perspectives. Subsequently, discussions between the African Union Commission (AUC) and US representatives ensued.

Focusing on diplomacy, Rosalie Daniels emphasised that partnerships are central to US commitments. As part of the government’s dedication, the President announced a USD 55 billion investment in Africa over the years. Strengthening international partnerships, particularly for emerging countries like many in Africa, is a priority for the USA. This includes fostering space understanding, awareness, and partnerships to achieve development goals. It also involves promoting transparent and responsible behaviour in space, demonstrated by initiatives like the Artemis Accord and the establishment of 270 Worldwide Diplomatic Missions, which serve as US local entry systems to Africa. Addressing US Civil Space Cooperation, Charity Weeden emphasised the importance of involving youth in space exploration to grow the space economy. However, stakeholders must ensure that outer space remains peaceful to facilitate innovation. This involves developing space exploration regulations that meet current needs while preserving the space environment for future activities.

Additionally, there is a recognised need to invest in youth, who will lead future space endeavours. Consequently, NASA collaborates with various organisations to promote STEM education and facilitate accessible exchanges and engagement opportunities. NASA has initiated bilateral agreements through the GLOBE project, which enhances environmental awareness and scientific understanding of Earth and supports student achievements in STEM. Currently, 27 African countries participate in GLOBE, benefiting over 40,000 students. Moreover, the US Department fosters discussions on key principles, including transparency, interoperability, space resources, deconfliction of activities, orbital debris, and spacecraft disposal. Members of the Artemis Accords deliberately design frameworks for peaceful exploration.

Charity concluded her presentation by affirming the organisation’s commitment to empowering nations to utilise space to address the climate crisis, promote environmental growth, and prevent disasters. Additionally, they actively encourage members to familiarise themselves with geospatial tools, with seven African nations developing expertise in this area. Another notable project is HARVEST, which strengthens the distribution of agricultural information across 40 African countries. AERONET focuses on providing aerosol information, climate data, and improved weather conditions across ten countries in Africa. At the same time, SEVIR supports the use of Earth Observation to manage agricultural productivity and climate change.

Gabriel Swiney discussed NOAA’s efforts to support climate change adaptation, oceanic activities, and the creation of resilience frameworks for nations worldwide. NOAA provides data enabling African countries to combat illegal fishing through joint technical training with the Fisheries Committee West Africa Task Force, involving Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria. NOAA also focuses on climate adaptation, resilience, and enterprise, conducting climate workshops in collaboration with the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center (CPC) in Turkey and has trained over 700 meteorologists and stakeholders from 115 countries. Additionally, the NOAA is working to expand access to multi-hazard early warning systems in Africa.

Gabriel Swiney also highlighted the NOAA’s commitment to strengthening ties with African weather services through initiatives like the African Training Desk. By utilising diverse tools, including free, open-source data, NOAA aims to combat climate change and establish robust disaster management warning systems. Swiney stressed the importance of key stakeholders leveraging available funding and resources to support these endeavours. Additionally, he underscored the department’s efforts in developing a new Space Situational Awareness System scheduled for launch in 2024, with data to be openly accessible and free for utilisation. Swiney also emphasised the International Trade Administration’s (ITA) readiness to support US-Africa trade missions and collaborate on navigating US regulations alongside partners.

Lt. Col. Matthew Collins emphasised the critical nature of space and security responsibilities, focusing on safeguarding and advocating for responsible space usage. He highlighted the department’s commitment to expanding and reinforcing key relationships to uphold global security and capabilities. Lt. Col. Collins stressed the importance of defending responsibilities and ensuring security while providing advanced services to partners to support peaceful use and commerce in space. Additionally, he underscored the close collaboration between the department and the Department of Commerce, emphasising the forging of key relationships to promote global stability.

The informative session was followed by a question and answer panel that featured Dr Tidiane Ouattara and was moderated by Meshack Ndiritu.

Dr Tidiane Ouattara underscored the strategic significance of the relationship between Africa and the USA, emphasising the need to align identified needs on the continent with diplomatic priorities. He stressed that policies and regulatory frameworks should mirror the African governments’ priorities, necessitating a reevaluation of agendas at both national and regional levels. Given Africa’s significant youth population, Dr Ouattara highlighted the importance of capacity building at the infrastructural level and engaging youths. He emphasised the necessity of focusing on training and education to foster inclusive growth and innovation.

Moreover, Dr Ouattara emphasised establishing partnerships tailored to individuals’ needs to enhance effectiveness in capacity-building initiatives. He advocated for targeted training tools to address localised problems and align with the African Union Commission’s theme of prioritising education across Africa. Additionally, he emphasised the importance of identifying needs across all segments of the space sector to optimise partnerships and resources and initiate effective policy dialogues. Furthermore, Dr Ouattara outlined the vision for the African Space Agency, highlighting Africa’s openness to international collaborations and initiatives. While partnerships have been initiated with various organisations, he stressed the importance of Africa seizing opportunities to grow regionally and internationally. Dr Ouattara urged African stakeholders to strengthen partnerships to support member states and ensure Africa’s ascent as a global space power, emphasising the importance of synergies for seamless collaborative efforts.

Charity emphasised the potential areas for collaboration between Africa and the US, stressing the importance of listening to each other’s needs to enhance dialogue and cooperation. She highlighted NASA’s capacity-building initiatives and bilateral frameworks to foster collaborative efforts. Gabriel echoed the sentiment, emphasising the necessity of understanding the problems at hand to facilitate seamless collaboration. He emphasised the purpose of space activities in harnessing benefits to address precise needs.

Daniels elaborated on the US’s capacity-building initiatives in Africa and reiterated Africa’s significance as a key partner in global exploration endeavours. He pointed out the Artemis Accords as a testament to Africa’s role in the global space ecosystem. As discussed in previous panels, efforts are underway to leverage Earth observation (EO) data to enhance agricultural productivity. Charity highlighted the Lunar-Mars program as a platform for NASA to collaborate with stakeholders globally, including Africa, to address skill gaps.

For his part, Gabriel discussed how US government initiatives can bolster capacity development in Africa, fostering homegrown capabilities. He noted the increasing involvement of private space players, indicating growing partnerships and trade interactions regionally and internationally. Gabriel also emphasised how US government initiatives align with global priorities such as climate change mitigation and improving conditions, highlighting the instrumental role of space-based data from NASA and NOAA in understanding the environment and pursuing sustainable goals.

The Interactive panel session was succeeded by the US-Africa Cooperation: Angola Drought Decision Support System panel, featuring Dr. Danielle Wood from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Heather McLeod from the U.S. International Trade Administration, U.S. Embassy Luanda, Angola.

Danielle Woods began by discussing her collaboration with GGPEN on addressing drought issues in Angola, particularly emphasising the government’s efforts to tackle drought and flooding. She described her firsthand experiences gathering information from local leaders in Anola provinces in 2019 to understand how environmental disasters impact daily life. Woods highlighted tracking the social vulnerability index and mapping drought intensity over time. She emphasised JAPAN’s role in channelling this data to relevant sources and agencies for effective utilisation.

Furthermore, Woods shared insights from leading projects in Angola, encouraging stakeholders to address local needs and consider local expertise to foster technicians’ independent systems operation. She discussed an exciting project involving the 2024 census, where new technological tools developed in collaboration with USA agencies are being employed. Plans are to transfer technical expertise to Angolan technicians over the coming years.

Heather focused on how US companies can assist in identifying priorities and providing solutions that align with people’s needs using valuable space and satellite data across various sectors. She emphasised that space initiatives should not solely focus on technology but also on packaging data to facilitate effective policy-making backed by science. Heather stressed the importance of expertise in monitoring trends and adapting policies accordingly, highlighting the necessity of accessible and available data to drive change.