In August 2015 for the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and Mongolia, Jean-Yves Le Gall visited Ulaanbaatar to meet the Mongolian authorities in charge of space matters following the government’s decision to establish a national space policy. As a result of these meetings, a Memorandum of Understanding was proposed between CNES and its Mongolian counterpart to pursue cooperation at institutional level.

Mongolia could benefit from France’s internationally renowned expertise in telecommunications and Earth-observation satellites, launch services and training for specialists from other nations to boost its economic development and hone the skills of its managers. In particular, CNES helps its partners to develop new applications leveraging space tools.

On the occasion of the signing of the memorandum, Jean-Yves Le Gall commented: “The benefits of fostering international space cooperation with both established and emerging players are today clearly recognized across our community, and it is to this end that CNES is partnering with ACTI to help Mongolia establish a national space programme. A technical seminar to be held in Toulouse with engineers from ACTI will enable us to define concrete areas in which we could work together, notably to develop new applications.”