By: Nana
Appiah Acquaye
The South African National
Space Agency (SANSA) and Nigeria’s National Space Research and Development
Agency (NASRDA) have agreed to strengthen their cooperation as they seek to
advance joint initiatives and support the development of Africa’s space sector.
The two agencies held a
high-level engagement co-chaired by SANSA Chief Executive Officer Humbulani
Mudau and NASRDA Director-General and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Matthew
Adepoju.
The discussions focused on
moving the existing Memorandum of Understanding between the two agencies
towards a more structured implementation framework with tangible, measurable
and time-bound outcomes.
South Africa and Nigeria are
among Africa’s leading space-faring nations, with both countries continuing to
develop capabilities across satellite technology, space science and related
applications.
The proposed areas of
cooperation include capacity building, satellite data utilisation, joint
research, technology development and knowledge exchange.
According to SANSA,
combining the capabilities of the two countries could help strengthen
cooperation between their respective institutions while contributing to the
growth of the wider African space ecosystem.
The engagement also focused
on establishing governance arrangements to support the implementation of the
partnership. A joint Steering Committee and structured implementation framework
are expected to help maintain momentum, strengthen accountability and identify
priority areas for collaboration.
Mudau
said the cooperation should extend beyond bilateral institutional engagement
