The Department of State has released the Strategic Framework for Space Diplomacy, an initiative aimed at expanding international cooperation and responsible behavior in space activities while ensuring U.S. global leadership in the domain.
The document highlights three main pillars, including advancing space policy internationally, leveraging U.S. space activities, and strengthening the technical skills and knowledge of the department’s workforce to support the framework’s implementation, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Tuesday.
To execute the framework, the State Department will continue interagency collaboration with NASA as well as the Departments of Commerce, Defense, Energy, Homeland Security, Interior and Transportation. It will also foster existing relationships with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Office of Science and Technology Policy, National Space Council, National Security Council, Federal Communications Commission and U.S. Agency for International Development to ensure diplomacy in space-based activities.
The U.S. government plans to share its capabilities, such as satellite applications, geospatial intelligence, and remote sensing satellite imagery to achieve foreign policy goals. Space diplomacy is expected to benefit initiatives and strategies related to climate change, international security and economic competitiveness, according to the framework.
“As near-earth space gets more crowded, the Framework will help maintain the rules-based international order and foster cooperation for long-term sustainability, commercialization, exploration, and space utilization,” stated Blinken, a Wash100 awardee.
