The United States has announced a new initiative to work with African countries to strengthen space capabilities, improve access to technology and promote development.
The first U.S.-Africa Technical and Regulatory Space Training Meeting took place in December 2025. Several additional meetings took place in the run-up to the NewSpace Africa Conference in April 2026 in Libreville, Gabon.
Ambassador Jonathan Pratt, then with the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, said the program aims to support African nations in creating and funding independent domestic programs that connect with other space programs around the world. It will help nations navigate the complex legal and commercial dimensions of space activity, the State Department said.
“The United States aims to empower African nations to create locally owned, financially sound, and internationally-aligned space programs — not dependent, opaque, or controlled by outside actors,” the U.S. State Department said.
The 2025 meeting represented the first step in strengthening U.S. space diplomacy in Africa, whose countries now have about 70 satellites on orbit. Representatives from Angola, Botswana, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda and Senegal participated in the inaugural meeting.
Another development in U.S.-Africa space relations occurred in July 2025, when Senegal became the fourth African country and the 56th country overall to sign the Artemis Accords. This set of nonbinding principles asks countries to pledge to pursue peaceful, transparent and sustainable civil space exploration and use. Senegal joins Angola, Nigeria and Rwanda as signatories.
“Senegal’s adherence to the Artemis Accords reflects our commitment to a multilateral, responsible, and transparent approach to space,” said Maram Kairé, director-general of the Senegalese Space Agency, during a signing ceremony at NASA headquarters. “This signature marks a meaningful step in our space diplomacy and in our ambition to contribute to the peaceful exploration of outer space.”