Africa and Russia sign MoU to strengthen space cooperation and capacity building
Date: 2026-05-21
By: Nana Appiah Acquaye
The African Space Agency (African Space Agency) and Russia’s state space corporation ROSCOSMOS have formalised a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at strengthening space cooperation, capacity building and joint development of space-related applications across Africa.
The agreement was signed in
Cairo by Tidiane Ouattara, President of the Council of the African Space Agency
(AfSA) and Yuriy Matveev, Charge d’Affaires of the Russian Federation in Egypt
following more than two years of consultations and negotiations between both
parties.
The MoU is designed to
reinforce the institutional framework for international collaboration in
support of Africa’s expanding space ambitions, with a strong focus on long-term
skills development for African professionals in the sector.
Key areas of cooperation
include the development of master’s and doctoral training programmes, as well
as joint initiatives in strategic sectors such as climate change monitoring,
agriculture, water resource management and Earth observation applications.
Officials say the
partnership is intended to enhance Africa’s access to advanced space
technologies while supporting innovation and research capacity across the
continent.
The agreement also reflects
a shared commitment to the peaceful use of space technologies and their
application toward socio-economic development in Africa, particularly in
addressing environmental and development challenges.
