{"id":440442,"date":"2025-04-29T20:04:20","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T17:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sonna.so\/en\/?p=440442"},"modified":"2025-04-29T20:04:20","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T17:04:20","slug":"the-inauguration-of-the-african-space-agency-and-the-newspace-africa-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonna.so\/en\/the-inauguration-of-the-african-space-agency-and-the-newspace-africa-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"The Inauguration of the African Space Agency and the NewSpace Africa Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

On 20th April 2025, a historic moment for Africa unfolded with the <\/span><\/span>official inauguration of the African Space Agency (<\/span><\/span>AfSA<\/span><\/span>)<\/span><\/span>during the <\/span><\/span>NewSpace<\/span><\/span> Africa Conference held in Cairo, Egypt. Dignitaries, ministers, ambassadors, and leading figures from across the world gathered to celebrate Africa\u2019s leap into space <\/span><\/span>leadership\u200b.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This ceremony solidified Africa\u2019s commitment to space sovereignty, unity, innovation, and sustainable development, and it positioned <\/span><\/span>AfSA<\/span><\/span> as a core institution in Africa\u2019s science, technology, and innovation <\/span><\/span>future\u200b.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Somalia\u2019s National Participation and High-Level Messages<\/span><\/p>\n

Message from the President of Somalia<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

H.E. <\/span><\/span>President Hassan Sheikh <\/span><\/span>Mohamoud<\/span><\/span>, President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, extended his warm greetings to all African nations on the occasion of the inauguration of the African Space Agency.<\/span><\/span>
\n<\/span><\/span>He congratulated:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 <\/span>Dr. <\/span><\/span>Tidiane<\/span><\/span> Ouattara<\/span><\/span>, President of the African Space Council, and the Council members for their vision and commitment.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>H.E. President Abdel Fattah El-<\/span><\/span>Sisi<\/span><\/span>, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, for Egypt\u2019s generous contribution in hosting <\/span><\/span>AfSA\u2019s<\/span><\/span> headquarters, providing a permanent standard base for managing African space affairs.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

The President highlighted this achievement as a milestone that will unite Africa\u2019s aspirations toward space leadership.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Acknowledgment of National Leadership<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The President also congratulated:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 <\/span>The Prime Minister<\/span><\/span> of \u00a0Federal<\/span><\/span> Republic of Somalia H.E, <\/span><\/span>Hamza<\/span><\/span> Abdi<\/span><\/span> Barre<\/span><\/span> and the <\/span><\/span>Minister of Communication and Technology of Somalia<\/span><\/span> for their efforts in initiating and developing Somalia\u2019s national space program.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Minister <\/span><\/span>H.E, MP. <\/span><\/span>Mohamed <\/span><\/span>Adam <\/span><\/span>Moalim<\/span><\/span> Ali (Somali) <\/span><\/span>Minister<\/span><\/span>y<\/span><\/span> of Communication and Technology)<\/span><\/span>, who sent the Director of Space and Satellite, <\/span><\/span>Mr. <\/span><\/span>Mohamed <\/span><\/span>Abubakar<\/span><\/span> Ismail<\/span><\/span>, to officially represent Somalia at both the inauguration and the <\/span><\/span>NewSpace<\/span><\/span> Africa Conference.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

Participation of Somalia\u2019s Delegation<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 <\/span>The Somali Embassy of Egypt and <\/span><\/span>Mr. Mohamed <\/span><\/span>Abubakar<\/span><\/span> Ismail<\/span><\/span>, Director of Space and Satellite, participated actively in both the <\/span><\/span>African Space Agency Inauguration<\/span><\/span> and the <\/span><\/span>NewSpace<\/span><\/span> Africa Conference<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>The Minister of Communication and Technology further congratulated <\/span><\/span>Dr. <\/span><\/span>Temidayo<\/span><\/span> Oniosun<\/span><\/span> and his team at <\/span><\/span>Space in Africa<\/span><\/span> for their excellent organization of a high-standard international conference.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>The Minister assured that <\/span><\/span>Somalia will continue to participate annually<\/span><\/span> in future editions of <\/span><\/span>NewSpace<\/span><\/span> Africa.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\"\" \"\"<\/div>\n

High-Level Panel Participation<\/span><\/p>\n

23 April 2025 \u2013 Panel on Status Updates of African Space Agencies (Cohort 4)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

in the high-level panel <\/span><\/span><\/a>alongside:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 <\/span>Mr. Amin <\/span><\/span>Mestar<\/span><\/span>, Secretary General, Algerian Space Agency<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Prof. Frederic <\/span><\/span>Ouattara<\/span><\/span>, Former Minister, Ministry of Higher Education, Burkina Faso<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Dr. Doreen <\/span><\/span>Agaba<\/span><\/span>, Technical Lead, Department of Aeronautics and Space Science, STI Secretariat, Uganda<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Mr. Mohamed <\/span><\/span>Abubakar<\/span><\/span> Ismail, <\/span><\/span>Director of Space and Satellite, Ministry of Communication and Technology, Somalia.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

Mr. Ismail presented:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 <\/span>Somalia\u2019s National Space Program Vision<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Progress in developing Somalia\u2019s basic space infrastructure<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Ongoing efforts in drafting the <\/span><\/span>Somali Space Policy and Strategic Frameworks<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Plans for <\/span><\/span>human capital development<\/span><\/span>, training Somali engineers and scientists<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>The strategic inclusion of <\/span><\/span>Somali academic institutions<\/span><\/span> in space research and innovation initiatives.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n

24 April 2025 \u2013 High-Level Panel Discussion: \u201cAfrica\u2019s Gateway to Space: Exploring Opportunities in Spaceport Development\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Director<\/span><\/span> also participated in this panel moderated by <\/span><\/span>Mr. Samuel <\/span><\/span>Nyangi<\/span><\/span> (Space in Africa), alongside:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 <\/span>Brigadier Hillary <\/span><\/span>Kipkosgey<\/span><\/span>, Acting Director General, Kenya Space Agency<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Prof. Jean <\/span><\/span>Pitot<\/span><\/span>, Aerospace Engineer, Aerospace Systems Research Institute (ASRI)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Mr<\/span><\/span> Mohamed \u00a0<\/span><\/span>Abubakar<\/span><\/span> Ismail<\/span><\/span>, Director of Space and Satellite, Ministry of Communication and Technology, Somalia.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

During the discussion, Mr. Ismail emphasized:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 <\/span>The <\/span><\/span>vision of developing a spaceport in Africa<\/span><\/span>, including Somalia\u2019s interest in such initiatives.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>The <\/span><\/span>strategic importance<\/span><\/span> of spaceport development for Africa\u2019s autonomy and leadership in the global space economy.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>How enabling <\/span><\/span>satellite launches from African soil<\/span><\/span> will reduce costs, decrease dependency on foreign launch sites, and foster technological self-reliance across the continent.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Introduction On 20th April 2025, a historic moment for Africa unfolded with the official inauguration of the African Space Agency (AfSA)during the NewSpace Africa Conference held in Cairo, Egypt. Dignitaries, ministers, ambassadors, and leading figures from across the world gathered to celebrate Africa\u2019s leap into space leadership\u200b. This ceremony solidified Africa\u2019s commitment to space sovereignty, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":120,"featured_media":440447,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-440442","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-local"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonna.so\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonna.so\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonna.so\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonna.so\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/120"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonna.so\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=440442"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sonna.so\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440442\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":440448,"href":"https:\/\/sonna.so\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440442\/revisions\/440448"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonna.so\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/440447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonna.so\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=440442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonna.so\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=440442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonna.so\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=440442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}