The Korea AeroSpace Administration will step up cooperation with France's National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) to help South Korean space companies enter the European market and join global supply chains.

The agency said on Tuesday it will visit Paris from Sept. 8 to 10 to sign an implementation arrangement (IA) with CNES on cooperation to promote the space industry. It will also attend the International Space Summit as South Korea’s chief representative.

The implementation arrangement is a follow-up to a framework agreement signed by the Korea AeroSpace Administration and CNES in October last year. It aims to set up a working-level cooperation system to boost the competitiveness of small and startup space companies in both countries and support mutual market entry.

Under the arrangement, the two sides will exchange information on space industry policy and corporate support systems. They will also provide mutual support so companies can participate in key international space cooperation platforms in both countries and in Europe. The Korea AeroSpace Administration expects this to broaden opportunities for South Korean space companies to enter the European market and join global supply chains.

The Korea AeroSpace Administration will form a government delegation with the Korea Aerospace Research Institute and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute and attend the International Space Summit, to be held at the Grand Palais in Paris from Sept. 9 to 10. The summit is a heads-of-state-level multilateral meeting in the space sector being held for the first time after France and Germany took joint chairmanship and invited more than 120 countries worldwide.

The government delegation will take part in discussions on space sustainability and future norms, including space situational awareness, scientific use of space data and frequency coordination. It will also attend the official plenenary session and sessions on major agenda items.

Korea AeroSpace Administration Administrator Tae-seok Oh (오태석) said, "Based on the implementation arrangement with CNES, we will actively support promising domestic space companies so they can advance to the European stage." He added, "We will raise national space capabilities to the next level based on strategic solidarity with major countries."