Nigeria, Rwanda become first African countries to sign Artemis Accords

By Innocent Obasi

Nigeria and Rwanda have become the first African signatories to  the Artemis Accords  which was one of the fallout of the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit held in Washington DC.

Isa Ali Ibrahim, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, who signed the agreements on behalf of Nigeria while Francis Ngabo, Rwanda Space Agency CEO, signed on behalf of the Republic of Rwanda.

The Artemis Accords provide a bold, multilateral vision for the future of space exploration. The Artemis Accords, which were launched in 2020 by the State Department, NASA, and eight countries, improve bilateral and multilateral space cooperation among signatories, enhancing our understanding of the universe and enhancing global prosperity. Signatories agree to abide by certain norms that will direct their civil space activities, such as the public release of scientific data, responsible debris mitigation, registration of space objects, and the establishment and implementation of interoperability standards.

The Forum reiterated the United States’ commitment to working with African partners to peacefully use and explore outer space in order to advance shared priorities for the Earth.

With 23 signatories, the Accords span every corner of the globe and reflect a wide range of space interests and capabilities. By agreeing to the Artemis Accords, Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Poland, Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States have shown their commitment to the peaceful, responsible, and sustainable use of space and are leading the international discussion on the future of space exploration.