Mali’s Minister of Communication, Digital Economy, and Administrative Modernisation, Alhamdou Ag Ilyène, has raised the prospect of establishing a national space agency and developing shared satellite capabilities within the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) during a meeting with ITU Deputy Secretary-General Tomas Lamanauskas on the sidelines of the WSIS Forum 2026 in Geneva.
The discussions, which centred more broadly on strengthening cooperation between Mali and the ITU in digital transformation and artificial intelligence, took a significant turn when the Minister outlined Mali’s spatial ambitions.
He emphasised the importance, for the AES member states, of progressively developing common space capabilities in the service of technological sovereignty, connectivity, Earth observation, disaster management, agriculture, security, and development.
In presenting the space agency proposal to the ITU, Minister Ag Ilyène expressed the hope that the Union would support this ambition within its own area of competence through technical expertise, experience sharing, and facilitation of international partnerships.
Tomas Lamanauskas reaffirmed the ITU’s readiness to deepen its support to Mali across its digital priorities, expressing the organisation’s commitment to backing the country’s initiatives in digital transformation, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and connectivity infrastructure development.
Source: https://spaceinafrica.com/2026/07/15/mali-eyes-establishing-a-national-space-agency/