17 Jul Space and Sovereignty: Africa’s Ascent in a Changing World

During the African Union’s 7th Mid-Year Coordination Meeting in Malabo on 13 July 2025, H.E. Dr Tidiane Ouattara, President of the Council of the African Space Agency, shared his remarks in response to the address by H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, offering a reflection that echoed far beyond the room: Africa is not rising, it is already moving. And space science is the quiet engine powering that momentum.

Dr Ouattara noted that the Chairperson’s message was clear: we live in a time of geopolitical flux, economic recalibration, and a global order in transition. Yet amid these shifts, Africa is anchoring itself, not by pleading for inclusion, but by positioning itself as an indispensable global actor. From trade reforms to domestic resource mobilisation, from digital transformation to industrial policy, the continent is reclaiming its agency.

“Space is not a luxury. It is not about launching rockets for show. Space is the silent infrastructure behind food security, disaster response, climate resilience, smart agriculture, mineral management, and even electoral transparency.” Dr Outtara mentioned. He further stated that space is how Africa monitors its forests in the Congo Basin and tracks the waters of the Nile. It is how the continent forecasts droughts before they devastate livelihoods, and how it optimises trade corridors under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Space, he emphasised, enables the sovereignty of data, decisions, and development.

The Chairperson spoke about the need to shift away from raw exports toward value-added production. Building on this point, Dr Ouattara emphasised that achieving such a shift requires precise land use data, satellite-guided logistics, and spatial intelligence across sectors, from energy infrastructure to urban development. He further noted that “Space is the map, the compass, and the watchtower of this journey.”

Dr Ouattara asserted that when speaking of African solutions to African problems, it is essential to invest in African satellites, designed by African engineers and launched under African policy frameworks. This, he said, is the ethos behind the African Space Policy and Strategy, as well as the driving spirit behind initiatives such as GMES & Africa, AfriGEO, and the African Space Agency.

Echoing the Chairperson’s call to “mobilise internal resources,” Dr Ouattara stressed the need to recognise data as the new resource. Earth observation, positioning systems, and satellite communications, he remarked, are no longer optional; they are foundational. Dr Ouattara pointed out that as Africa celebrates the USD 6.2 billion potential of cotton and the USD 5.5 billion from Ethiopian coffee, critical questions must be asked: Who is measuring the soil? Who is mapping the roads to the ports? Who is modelling the climate risks? Behind each of these figures, he argued, lies a space-enabled insight.

He concluded by underscoring that Africa’s position at the United Nations Security Council must be matched by its presence in orbit. Representation, he noted, must extend beyond the corridors of diplomacy to the skies, where decisions are increasingly shaped by space-based intelligence. He described the coordination meeting in Malabo as a reminder that Africa’s mission is not solely political, but planetary. “With its ingenuity and resilience, it is already on its launchpad. The future is not just terrestrial. It is geospatial.”