Mali and Russia will work together on satellite technologies

Meeting to discuss joint space projects was held between a West African delegation and a Russian state enterprise.

Tuesday saw a discussion about technology sharing and satellite launch services between Malian officials and the state-run Russian space enterprise Glavkosmos.

The Russian state organisation that promotes the nation’s space sector on the international market hosted the group from Mali, which was led by Economy Minister Alousseni Sanou.

READ ALSO: UN peacekeepers continue to leave Mali due to security concerns

The growth of national space projects in Mali and staff training were among the topics discussed, according to Ilya Tarasenko, CEO of Glavkosmos, a division of state-owned Roscosmos. At the meeting were representatives from Mali’s infrastructure, transport, and trade ministries.

As of 2022, at least 13 African countries had 48 self-built satellites, according to Space in Africa, a Nigeria-based organisation that tracks African space programmes. Among them were Ethiopia, Angola, South Africa, and Sudan. Over 20 African nations currently have active space programmes.

In 1998, Egypt became the first African nation to launch a satellite into orbit. In 2018, Kenya launched Taifa-1, its first operational Earth observation satellite, and in April of this year, it launched its first experimental mini-satellite into orbit from the International Space Station.