Space Africa launched its office in Egypt this week.

Africa’s long-standing ambitions in space took a historic step forward last week, with the official launch of the African Space Agency (AfSA) in Egypt’s Space City, Cairo.

Space Africa said the landmark event marks the culmination of nearly a decade of strategic groundwork that began in January 2016, when the African Union Assembly adopted the African Space Policy and Strategy during its 26th ordinary session, establishing the framework for a coordinated continental approach to space activities.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by a notable group of guests, including African Union Commission officials, representatives from African governments and space agencies, ambassadors from African and foreign countries based in Egypt, members of the AfSA Council, and high-level delegates from the global space community.

The event also drew prominent international space community leaders, such as Marco Ferrazzani, director of internal services at the European Space Agency; Luca Maria Salamone, director general of the Italian Space Agency; Karen Feldstein, NASA’s associate administrator for International Relations;Salem Butti Salem Al Qubaisi, director General of the UAE Space Agency.

Also present was Jean-Marc Astorg, director of strategy at France’s Centre National d’Études Spatiales ,Kikuchi Koichi, deputy director of the International Relations and Research Department at Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Driss El-Hadani, Deputy Director of United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs.

African space leadership was strongly represented by members of the African Space Council, led Dr Tidiane Ouattara, President of the AfSA Council, and Thandikile Mbvundula, vice president.

Other key figures included Dr Valanathan Munsami, chancellor of the International Space University and former CEO of the South African National Space Agency, alongside heads of national space agencies across the continent and distinguished representatives from space institutions within and beyond Africa.