Armenia became the 43rd signatory to the Artemis Accords yesterday at a ceremony at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The Artemis Accords were established in 2020 by the United States and seven other countries to set out a practical set of principles to guide the exploration and use of outer space.
Minister of High-Tech Industry Mkhitar Hayrapetyan signed the Accords for Armenia in the presence of Ambassador of Armenia Lilit Makunts, First Deputy Minister of High-Tech Industry Gevorg Mantashyan, Advisor to the Minister of High-Tech Industry Marta Sandoyan, Deputy Chief of Mission Artur Grigoryan, State Department Acting Assistant Secretary Jennifer R. Littlejohn, and NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. The United States values expanded bilateral cooperation with Armenia and supports Prime Minister Pashinyan's efforts to promote peace and prosperity for Armenia and the South Caucasus region.
The United States commends Armenia joining 42 other nations - Angola, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Peru, Poland, the Republic of Korea, Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Uruguay - in affirming the Accords' principles for sustainable civil space activity. The Department of State and NASA lead the United States' outreach and implementation of the Accords.