L’attention au domaine de l’espace s’est développé au cours des dernières décennies, ce qui souligne, son importance au niveau de la sécurité et l’économie. 

Les pays Moyen-Orient et de l’Afrique ont accéléré leurs propres programmes spatiaux, engageant des modèles de développement occidentales et introduisant des innovations locales.

Ce projet vise à examiner les capacités de développement des pays de la région dans le domaine spatial, et évaluer son impact au niveau politique, militaire, économique et sociétale.

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Study Day on Space Capabilities in the MENA focused on:

• The general outlook of the existing space capabilities in North Africa and the Middle East - dissecting the national priorities and strategic goals
• The relevance of space capabilities for economic development (with a distinction between the Middle East and North Africa, if deemed appropriate), including an analysis of educational requirements for the relevant countries
• The (regional) geo-strategic competition in the space sector, including medium- to long-term projections (5 to 10 years)

Key Insights

• Space can act as a catalyst for regional cooperation, emphasizing its role in diplomacy to tie, restart, or consolidate relationships between countries.
• Space Education and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), universities, and public space agency engagements are critical, not only as a social stabilizer for younger generations, but also for countries prioritising the development of professionals and scientists.
• The evolution and high pace development of the space sector is creating a "New Space" approach, acquiring Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) components for technological advancement.
• Space contributes significantly to socio-economic development as well as risk and disaster mitigation, environmental and climate analyses.
• The current space environment is ever more competitive and contested, indicating its significance not only for military capabilities but also for new Multi-Domain Operations, while other nations (Russia/China) are creating partner relationships within the MENA region.
  

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