Monaco’s Government and its Embassy in France took part in the first International Space Summit, held in Paris on Wednesday, September 9 and Thursday, September 10, an event organised by France to bring together key players in the space sector around shared commitments to the peaceful, equitable and sustainable use of space.
Valérie Bruell-Melchior, Monaco’s Ambassador to France, represented His Serene Highness Prince Albert II at the summit, accompanied by staff from the Embassy and the Department of External Relations and Cooperation.
Held at the Grand Palais, the summit brought together delegations from more than 90 states to address key issues surrounding the exploration and use of outer space. Against a backdrop of significant geopolitical upheaval, organisers stressed the importance of close cooperation between political, scientific and industrial space actors working toward shared goals.
Discussions at the summit centred on three main areas: the science and technology behind space exploration, the security and governance of space activities, and the broader economics of the sector.
Space technologies now underpin much of daily life, from weather forecasting and climate monitoring to geolocation and telecommunications. But the recent diversification of players in the sector, combined with growing reliance on these technologies, has made stronger coordination increasingly necessary, with risks including new dependencies, the need to regulate emerging technologies, and growing congestion in Earth’s orbits all posing challenges to how space activities are conducted going forward.
Monaco reaffirmed its commitment to the peaceful, equitable and sustainable use of space in line with international legal frameworks. Legal work already underway through the Prince’s Government’s Office of Space Affairs is expected to give Monégasque authorities and industry players a secure, well-adapted framework in which to operate as the space sector continues to evolve rapidly.
The summit also gave Monaco-based company Venturi Space the opportunity to showcase its spacecraft to the international community, including ALTA LUNA, its single-seat lunar utility vehicle designed to operate around future lunar bases.