European Commission Plans for Africa and Latin America – SpaceWatch.Global

Ibadan, the 25th January 2023.- The 15th European Space Conference ended today, January 25, 2023, at the Egmont Palace in Brussels, Belgium. During the 14th session on Deepening Space Cooperation between Europe, Africa and Latin America, Tomasz Husák revealed some of the European Commission’s plans for Africa and Latin America. The panel session included a number of dignitaries, including Dr. Tidiane Ouattara, Space Science Expert and GMES and Africa Assistance Program Coordinator, African Union Commission; Brian Dean, CEO and co-founder of Dragonfly Aerospace; Manuel Heiter, President and Coordinator, k4P Alliance, Portugal; and Tomasz Husak, Advisor Digital Agenda and Data Technologies, European Commission, among others.

During the conversation, Tomasz Husák pointed out that the European Commission is now looking at an EU Africa space flagship program based on three pillars. According to Husak, the first pillar will result in innovation and a partnership to see how the commission can help the newly established African Space Agency start operations. The second part of the plan, the advisory Digital Agenda and Data Technologies, will focus on industrial potential, for example, the production of nanosatellites, according to the European Commission. Accordingly, this first pillar will cost 100 million euros.

Continuing on the pillars, Husk described the second pillar as the location for a green transition. This is due to green infection being a significant global problem. As a result, the commission will focus on biodiversity, climate change, climate resilience, and early warning systems regarding climate hazards and disasters. The third pillar will focus on creating a business ecosystem of startups, and business accelerators, creating real potential for African countries and African companies, as a result, to deal with data as best as possible.

In Latin America, Husak revealed that the European Commission will launch the EU Latin America Caribbean Digital Alliance in March this year. He noted that the coalition is not an entirely new development as it builds on what the commission was already doing. Citing the recently launched Copernicus Data Center in Chile, Hasak pointed out that there has been a lack of connectivity between the EU and the Latin American Caribbean for many years. They concluded that digital alliances would empower local populations and companies and provide them with greater opportunities in smaller global markets.