GGPEN Marks First Day of ANGOTIC 2026 with Strategic Debates, Partnerships, and International Cooperation
Angola’s National Space Program Management Office, GGPEN, took centre stage on the opening day of ANGOTIC 2026 in Luanda on 11 June, using the continent’s largest ICT forum to advance strategic partnerships, host high-level diplomatic meetings, and assert space technology’s role as a driver of Angola’s digital transformation agenda.
The day’s programmatic centrepiece was the plenary session “Space as an Engine for Digital Transformation,” held at the main hall of the Centro de Convenções de Talatona. The session brought together some of the most senior voices in global and African space leadership, with the Minister of Telecommunications, Mário Oliveira, delivering the political address. In his remarks, the minister positioned the National Space Programme, anchored by ANGOSAT-2 and the ongoing development of the ANGEO-1 Earth observation satellite, as a core pillar of Angola’s technology strategy, with direct applications across connectivity, agriculture, environmental monitoring, and urban planning. He also announced the launch of Observa+, a new initiative to deliver satellite data applications to communities in support of agriculture, natural resource management, and climate risk monitoring.
The plenary also featured a statement by H.E. Dr Tidiane Ouattara, President of the Council of the African Space Agency, who assessed Angola as one of the five leading space nations on the continent, alongside Algeria, Nigeria, South Africa, and Egypt, a position he attributed to the National Space Programme, the operational success of ANGOSAT-2, and the ANGEO-1 development programme. GGPEN Director General Dr Zolana João participated in the session alongside Ouattara, SANSA CEO Eng. Humbulani Mudau, UAE Space Agency representative Eng. Salem Butti Salem Al Qubaisi, and Portuguese Space Agency President Eng. Ricardo Conde, with UNOOSA Director General Aarti Holla-Maini joining remotely. The session was moderated by Dr Temidayo Oniosun, CEO of Space in Africa.
Video highlights from Day 1 are available here.
In the afternoon, GGPEN experts led a parallel session titled “Smart Geospatial Solutions for Digital Transformation in Emerging Countries,” showcasing concrete applications of space data across agriculture, environment, oil and gas, land use planning, and infrastructure management.
Strategic Alliances and Global Partnerships
Among the day’s most consequential outcomes was the signing of multiple memoranda of understanding and cooperation agreements with national and international institutions. On the national side, agreements were concluded with Unitel, the National Agency for Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels (ANPG), Banco Angolano de Investimentos (BAI), the National Maritime Agency, Instituto Nacional de Fomento da Sociedade de Informação (INFOSI), FATCOM, MSTelcom, and the Luanda Provincial Government. International agreements were signed with the Gabon Space Agency, the Nigeria Space Agency, Telecom Namibia, and Symphony Space of the United States. The agreements are aimed at strengthening technical cooperation and knowledge transfer, and at expanding services supported by ANGOSAT-2 across Angola and the wider region.
The day also featured a series of high-level diplomatic meetings convened by Minister Oliveira, who received Dr Ouattara, SANSA CEO Eng. Humbulani Mudau, and Portuguese Space Agency President Eng. Ricardo Conde, among other dignitaries. The meetings addressed opportunities for international cooperation, capacity building, scientific research, and the development of new initiatives within the Angolan space ecosystem.
ANGOTIC 2026 continues through 13 June. Upcoming GGPEN-led sessions include the Role of Satellite Communications in Digital Transformation on 12 June and Human Capital in the Space Sector on 13 June.