Business France, the National Centre for Space Studies (CNES), and the Embassy of France to the UAE concluded the third edition of French Space Days UAE. The two-day bilateral forum brought together fifteen French aerospace enterprises and key Emirati organizations to deepen commercial, industrial, and technological ties across the satellite and space value chain.
Hosted at the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR), the event opened with introductory addresses from Dr. Ebtesam Alteneiji, Deputy Director General of ECSSR; Marie Audouard, Ambassador of France to the UAE; Ibrahim AlQasim, Deputy Director General of the UAE Space Agency; and Christelle Astorg-Lepine, Spatial Attaché and CNES Representative.
Industry Panels and Strategic Focus Areas
The conference program featured four technical panel discussions centered on shared operational priorities between France and the United Arab Emirates:
- Sovereign Space Capabilities: Strategies for developing independent space infrastructure and orbital technologies.
- Space Data and Intelligence: Utilizing Earth observation data and analytics for defense, civil planning, and environmental monitoring.
- The New Space Economy: Commercial opportunities, startup scaling, and private capital investment in aerospace ventures.
- Asset Protection and Space Resilience: Managing space situational awareness, orbital debris mitigation, and defensive space security.
Ecosystem Site Visits and Regional Expansion
Following the conference sessions, participating companies held more than one hundred targeted business-to-business meetings to evaluate prospective joint ventures, technology transfers, and supplier agreements.
The visiting French delegation conducted operational site visits across the UAE space ecosystem, touring facilities at commercial space enterprise Space42, satellite manufacturer Orbitworks, and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC). The delegation also attended a diplomatic reception hosted by Ambassador Marie Audouard to engage with government officials, academic researchers, and industry stakeholders.
Following the conclusion of the UAE events, the French space delegation traveled to Oman to meet with Omani space officials and explore prospective industrial partnerships within the Sultanate’s emerging space sector.
