INDIAN Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the partnership between his country and France in a video message shown at a space summit in Paris on Thursday (September 10).
The two-day summit, organised by France, pressed ahead even as it was shunned by U.S. tech giants and hampered by a lower-than-expected turnout from European leaders.
Organisers had billed the International Space Summit in Paris on September 9 and 10 as a forum for decision-makers, corporations and scientists from 120 nations including rival space powers U.S. and China to find ways to cooperate and improve regulation.
The summit in the glass-domed Grand Palais is seen as a key event for French President Emmanuel Macron, striving to secure his legacy as he nears the end of his presidency and anxious to lock in European cooperation amid the rise of populist parties on left and right.
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.
