PARIS (CNES PR) — Rémy Rioux, Managing Director of the French Development Agency (AFD) and Philippe Baptiste, Chairman and CEO of CNES, today renewed a partnership agreement to promote AFD’s adoption of satellite technologies for its work. research and development projects.

Sizing energy production infrastructures and access networks, reducing the digital divide, quickly collecting epidemiological data in the field, anticipating the risks of coastal flooding, these are all examples of the challenges that technologies satellites make it possible to take readings in areas that are difficult to access and lack infrastructure and means of in situ observation.

The renewal of this partnership agreement will allow AFD to benefit from the expertise and support of CNES to raise awareness and train its teams in space, collect and analyze needs in order to support the integration of satellite technologies in its projects, one objective pursued by AFD being to eventually have a tool for monitoring and evaluating projects in developing countries.  

PARIS (White House PR) — Following her meeting with President Emmanuel Macron of France, Vice President Kamala Harris is announcing a number of collaborative initiatives that the United States will undertake alongside France and other countries to address global issues and emerging threats. She is announcing expanded cooperation on space and support for efforts to advance international cooperation in cybersecurity.  These initiatives underscore the U.S. commitment to work with allies and partners to take on the challenges of the 21^st century.
 
Space
 
For decades, the United States and France have benefited from robust cooperation in space across our respective civil, commercial, and national security sectors.  Recognizing the growing importance of space in providing benefits to humanity, from tackling climate challenges and enabling human exploration of space and scientific discovery to ensuring sustainable economic development and security, our countries acknowledge the pivotal role international cooperation plays in sustaining the outer space environment so we may maximize the benefits space offers. Based on this shared vision and over 60 years of joint space activities, the United States and France will seek greater cooperation through the following initiatives:

PARIS (CNES PR) — Monday, September 28, 2020, Jean-Yves Le Gall, President of CNES, met with Zhang Kejian, Administrator of the CNSA (China National Space Administration). 

Their last meeting took place in Beijing on November 5, 2019 on the occasion of the official visit of the President of the Republic to China and the signing of the Joint Declaration on Cooperation Relating to the Chang’e 6 Mission and a Mission satellite for monitoring the water cycle.

PARIS (CNES PR) — On the occasion of the state visit to France of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an agreement signed by CNES President Jean-Yves Le Gall and K Sivan, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), was officially announced to start development and production of a constellation of satellites on which studies have been underway since President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to India in March 2018.

This constellation carrying telecommunications (AIS*) and radar and optical remote-sensing instruments will constitute the first space-based system in the world capable of tracking ships continuously. The satellites will be operated jointly by France and India to monitor ships in the Indian Ocean. The system will cover a wide belt around the globe, benefiting a broad range of French economic interests. With a revisit capability making it possible to task acquisitions several times a day, it will also be able to detect oil slicks and trace their origin.