By: Nana
Appiah Acquaye
Uzbekistan has become the
77th country to sign the Artemis Accords, pledging its commitment to the
peaceful exploration and use of space, according to the United States
Department of State.
Uzbekistan’s Minister of
Foreign Affairs, Bakhtiyor Saidov, signed the Accords on behalf of the Republic
of Uzbekistan on October 19, 2026. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio
witnessed and celebrated the signing after his bilateral meeting with Minister
Saidov in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
In a media note issued on
October 19, the U.S. Department of State congratulated Uzbekistan on joining
the Accords and said the United States looked forward to working with the
country to further deepen their enhanced strategic partnership ahead of the upcoming
G20 Summit.
The United States and seven
other countries established the Artemis Accords in 2020, during President
Donald Trump’s first term, as a set of practical principles to guide
responsible space exploration.
Uzbekistan joins the United
States and 75 other nations in affirming the Accords’ principles for
sustainable civil space activity.
The Department of State and
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) lead the United
States’ outreach and implementation of the Accords.
