Following her meeting with President Emmanuel Macron of France, Vice President Kamala Harris is announcing a number of collaborative initiatives that the United States will undertake alongside France and other countries to address global issues and emerging threats. She is announcing expanded cooperation on space and support for efforts to advance international cooperation in cybersecurity. These initiatives underscore the U.S. commitment to work with allies and partners to take on the challenges of the 21st century.
Space
For decades, the United States and France have benefited from robust cooperation in space across our respective civil, commercial, and national security sectors. Recognizing the growing importance of space in providing benefits to humanity, from tackling climate challenges and enabling human exploration of space and scientific discovery to ensuring sustainable economic development and security, our countries acknowledge the pivotal role international cooperation plays in sustaining the outer space environment so we may maximize the benefits space offers. Based on this shared vision and over 60 years of joint space activities, the United States and France will seek greater cooperation through the following initiatives:
- Comprehensive Dialogue on Space: Experts from the National Space Council, the National Security Council, Department of State, Department of Defense, Department of Commerce, Department of Transportation, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and other Departments and Agencies as appropriate, together with their French counterparts, will establish a regular bilateral dialogue to ensure a whole-of-government approach to space cooperation. Together, we will leverage the growing importance of our civil, commercial, and national security space cooperation in order to meet our shared national and foreign policy objectives such as: addressing the climate crisis; expanding the frontiers of space; enhancing the quality of and access to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education; consulting on norms, guidelines, principles, and rules for promoting the long-term sustainability of the outer space environment and the security of space activities; and enabling a sustainable space economy that ensures humanity accrues the benefits space has to offer. We committed to an initial emphasis on expanding cooperation to address the climate crisis, including discussions about enhancing the exchange of Earth observation satellite data and joint analysis of climate change risks.
- Space Climate Observatory: Vice President Harris is announcing that the United States is committed to joining the Space Climate Observatory (SCO) and looks forward to working with France’s National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) to finalize the SCO Charter. SCO is intended to sponsor projects that help make data from space accessible to local entities to inform decisions and measures to mitigate and respond to the climate crisis. As Chair of the National Space Council, the Vice President is leading efforts to address the climate crisis by leveraging the nation’s space activities to address the needs of communities, including through building climate resilience, increasing understanding, and preparing responses to climate change.
Cybersecurity
The United States is committed to working alongside our allies and partners to advance cybersecurity and uphold established global norms in cyberspace. As part of these efforts, France is a vital partner to ensuring security and stability for our people, holding actors that threaten our national and economic security accountable, and setting the rules of the road for the 21st century.
- Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace: Vice President Harris is announcing the U.S. decision to support the Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace –a voluntary commitment to work with the international community to advance cybersecurity and preserve the open, interoperable, secure, and reliable Internet.
- The United States looks forward to continued partnership with France and other governments, private sector, and civil society around the world to advance and promote norms of responsible behavior in cyberspace. This includes working with likeminded countries to attribute and hold accountable States that engage in destructive, disruptive, and destabilizing cyber activity.
- The United States’ decision to support the Paris Call reflects the Biden-Harris Administration’s priority to renew and strengthen America’s engagement with the international community on cyber issues. The United States interprets the Paris Call consistent with our existing domestic and international obligations and commitments, including the importance we place on respecting human rights, freedom of expression and privacy.
This announcement builds on the United States’ continuing work to improve cybersecurity for our citizens and business, including rallying G7 countries to hold accountable nations that harbor cyber criminals, supporting the update of NATO cyber policy for the first time in seven years, and the recent counter-ransomware engagement with over 30 countries around the world to accelerate international cooperation to combat cybercrime.
