The UAE's Sultan Al Neyadi is the only Arab astronaut attending the two-day International Space Summit that started in Paris on Wednesday, highlighting the Emirates' rising profile in the sector.
Dr Al Neyadi, who is also the Minister of State for Youth Affairs, joined the UAE delegation alongside Space Agency chairman Dr Ahmad Al Falasi, who is also Minister of Sports. Fatima Al Shamsi, the agency's acting director of space policy and international relations, is listed among the speakers.
Speaking alongside a panel of international astronauts, Dr Al Neyadi said the rapid growth of the UAE's two-decade-old space programme was rooted in international co-operation. "We’re open to any sort of collaboration and international deals in a way to push this with the capability of knowledge transfer as well," he said. He pointed to past partnerships with Russia, the US, Japan and South Korea.
About 15 astronauts are due to attend the summit, most of them from western countries. With three astronauts – Samantha Cristoforetti, Luca Parmitano, and Andrea Patassa – Italy has the largest contingent.
French President Emmanuel Macron convened the summit to launch a global discussion on governing space and to boost Europe's standing in an industry dominated by US-Chinese competition, organisers said.
US technology companies withdrew following pressure from the White House, which viewed the event as too pro-European.
Divisions within Europe have led to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni staying away.
France has been leading calls for Europe to increase its autonomy in space, while Germany appears less willing to close the door on SpaceX, which dominates the modern launch market.
China, India and Japan are participating in the summit, as well as leaders from Vietnam and South Korea. International statements and new commercial agreements are expected to be made during the summit.
High stakes
“This is a subject that lies at the intersection of international, diplomatic, military and technological issues,” Mr Macron's office said before the summit.
In a signal of close UAE-French relations in the space industry, Orbitwork's Hamdullah Mohib is among a dozen international chief executives due to have a closed-door round-table meeting with Mr Macron on Wednesday.
Loft Orbital, which is headquartered in the US and has a French chief executive, will also attend, as well as German, Spanish and Canadian business representatives. Loft Orbital and Marlan Space, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi-based global investment firm Marlan Holding, are partners in satellite company Orbitworks, which is also based in Abu Dhabi.
This week, Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Company announced the acquisition of an 80 per cent stake in Marlan Holding amid growth in the global space economy. Last month, Orbitworks signed a deal with France in one of the first instances of a European government space agency becoming a customer of a satellite constellation owned and built in the Middle East.
Orbitworks also shipped the Altair-1 satellite to the US for a launch with SpaceX in October.
The UAE's federal space agency was founded just over a decade ago and the country has since proved itself fast-growing regional leader. In 2023, Dr Al Neyadi spent six months in the International Space Station and became the first Arab astronaut to perform a spacewalk. He has become a champion for the UAE's space programme and its astronauts.
In June, he completed alongside astronaut Hazza Al Mansouri Nasa's geology training in the US state of New Mexico, as the UAE's space programme prepares for new destinations such as the Moon.
