In a bid to strengthen partnerships for  the development of Space Technology and Nigeria’s digital economy, the  Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ibrahim Pantami has commenced discussions with Space Exploration Technologies Corporation(SpaceX) in United States.

Pantami who met with management of the Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (Space X) headquarters in Hawthorne, California also had discussions with World Bank Headquarters and the Google Corporation.

The meetings with the World Bank and Google were held at the sidelines of the US-Africa Leaders’ Forum (USALF), which took place in Washington DC, United States of America, while the visit to Space X was a follow up to the events at the USALF.

Professor Pantami was received at Space X by Samuel (Chad) Gibbs IV, the Vice President of Business Operations, on behalf of Elon Musk, Founder and CEO of Space X.

The Statement from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Headquarters stated that both parties discussed how Space X can expand its presence in Nigeria, following their entry into the Nigerian market through the Starlink broadband service.

The Minister also asked the Space X team to consider sourcing some of its engineers from Nigeria’s digital talent pool.

During the visit according to statement, the Minister and his team were given a personalised tour of the SpaceX Rocket Manufacturing Facility, Starlink Assembly Line, and Product Development Facility.

Statement signed by Reuben Muoka, Director Public Affairs of the NCC

hinted that the Minister also witnessed the live Space X rocket launch of 2 telecom satellites into orbit.

On the invitation of the World Bank Group, the Minister had a meeting with top officials of the Bank, including Vyjayanti Desai, the Practice Manager for the World Bank’s Identification for Development (ID4D) and Digitizing Government to Person Payments (G2Px) Programs.

Also at the meeting were Franz Drees-Gross, Director of Infrastructure, World Bank West African Region and Michel Rogy, World Bank’s Digital Development Practice Manager for Africa and the Middle East.

The World Bank team commended the Minister for his great leadership, which the team said has impacted positively on the  development of the nation’s digital economy

Pantami at the meeting urged the Bank to further partner with Nigeria to strengthen the digital economy ecosystem in areas such as infrastructure, skilling, cybersecurity, and digital identity.

Pantami also had a meeting with Karan Bhatia, Vice-President, Government Affairs, and Public Policy at Google.

Mr. Bhatia lauded the Minister for the significant progress that has been made in the digital transformation of the Nigerian economy.

He also commended the Minister for Nigeria Startup Act, noting the potential of the legislation to serve as a catalyst for rapid development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Nigeria and other parts of Africa.

The Google Vice-President discussed the company’s growing focus on Africa and looks forward to expanding partnerships with Nigeria in areas such as skilling, cybersecurity, and cloud computing, among others.