A two-day international space summit organised in Paris began on Wednesday amid French-Emirati efforts to strengthen industry ties and develop low Earth orbit technologies. UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi, who is also the Minister of State for Youth Affairs, is representing his country at the summit, which has been organised by France and Germany. It is focused on strengthening investments in the space industry and launching a global discussion on governing space.More than 90 countries are represented at the summit, but US technology companies withdrew following pressure from the White House, which views the event as too pro-European. Germany is represented by its Minister for Research, Technology and Space, Dorothee Bar. "We will have a series of opportunities, common investments, common programmes and partnerships to strengthen, obviously, the European space industry and space research, but also partnerships with a lot of other countries," French President Emmanuel Macron said in his opening statement at the Grand Palais in Paris.The Emirati defence company Edge signed a deal with Munich's The Exploration Company to work towards a sea-based launch system based in the UAE. Edge subsidiary Fada also said it would collaborate with France’s Infinite Orbits to roll out Space Situational Awareness surveillance capacities in low Earth orbit. Emmanuel Macron meets astronauts during the International Space Summit in Paris. EPAShow caption: Emmanuel Macron meets astronauts during the International Sp…“This Franco-Emirati collaboration illustrates the two companies' shared commitment to strengthening space surveillance capabilities while consolidating industrial ties between the French and UAE space ecosystems,” the Elysee said in a document listing more than 50 new business agreements agreed at the summit.AI satellitesAbu Dhabi start-up Tactica AI signed a separate deal with France’s Safran to deepen co-operation in space data analysis. Additionally, Marlan Space, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi global investment firm Marlan Holding, and Loft Orbital, which has its headquarters in the US and a French chief executive, said they would work with France’s Mistral AI to develop a constellation of 50 satellites equipped with on-board AI. Led by Marlan Space, the consortium will mobilise $1 billion in investments in France. The project will involve the US space-based intelligence company BlackSky, and illustrates the joint French and Emirati ambition to become world leaders in AI in space, the Elysee said. “The initial applications, developed using Loft Orbital’s space platform and Mistral AI’s artificial intelligence models, will focus notably on fire detection, protecting populations against ballistic threats, and securing critical energy infrastructure,” it said. Earlier this week, an 80 per cent stake in Marlan Holding was acquired by Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Company amid growth in the global space economy.In a further signal of tight UAE-French relations in the space industry, Hamdullah Mohib, acting chief executive of the satellite company Orbitworks, was among a dozen international chief executives who held a closed-door round-table meeting with Mr Macron ahead of the summit's launch on Wednesday. Orbitworks is a joint venture between Marlan Space and Loft Orbital.Edge subsidiary Fada will collaborate with France’s Infinite Orbits. Abdulla Al Bedwawi / UAE Presidential CourtShow caption: Edge subsidiary Fada will collaborate with France’s Infinite…Last month, Orbitworks signed a deal with France in one of the first instances of a European government space agency becoming a customer of a satellite constellation owned and built in the Middle East. Orbitworks also shipped the Altair-1 satellite to the US for a launch with SpaceX in October.International co-operationDr Al Neyadi, who is among a UAE delegation that also included Space Agency chairman and Sports Minister Dr Ahmad Al Falasi, is the only Arab astronaut attending the summit, highlighting the Emirates' rising profile in the sector.Speaking alongside a panel of international astronauts, Dr Al Neyadi said the rapid growth of the UAE's two-decade-old space programme was rooted in international co-operation. "We’re open to any sort of collaboration and international deals in a way to push this with the capability of knowledge transfer as well," he said. He pointed to past partnerships with Russia, the US, Japan and South Korea. In 2023, Dr Al Neyadi spent six months on the International Space Station and became the first Arab astronaut to perform a spacewalk. He has become a champion for the UAE's space programme and its astronauts.Play01:15Orbitworks acting CEO of on the 'App Store moment for satellites'In June, he and astronaut Hazza Al Mansouri completed Nasa's geology training in New Mexico, as the UAE's space programme prepares for new destinations, such as the Moon.Around 20 astronauts are attending the summit, most of them from Western countries. Italy has the largest contingent with three astronauts: Samantha Cristoforetti, Luca Parmitano and Andrea PatassaDespite Mr Macron's ambition to strengthen the European space industry, divisions within the continent have led to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni staying away. France has led 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. China, India and Japan are participating in the summit, as are leaders from Vietnam and South Korea.