President Buhari
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari Flickr

Nigeria and Rwanda officially became the first African nations to sign the Artemis Accords Tuesday.

The signing took place at the first-ever U.S.-Africa Space Forum in Washington DC, the U.S. Department of State said.

Nigeria's Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Isa Ali Ibrahim and Rwanda Space Agency CEO Francis Ngabo signed the accords during the forum where participants discussed "peaceful exploration" and the "use of outer space," according to a statement released by the White House.

"The Forum highlighted the U.S.-Africa space partnership and cooperation to address 21st-century challenges and opportunities, including responding to the climate, biodiversity, and global food crises; promoting responsible behavior in outer space; and reinforcing U.S.-African scientific and commercial space cooperation," the statement read.

The Artemis Accords are a set of principles created to guide future space exploration. They reinforce and provide for important operational implementation of key obligations in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, such as the affirmation of the importance of implementing best practices and norms of responsible behavior, as well as compliance with the Registration Convention and the Rescue and Return Agreement.

Commenting on the agreement, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said, "I'm thrilled Nigeria and Rwanda are committing to the safe, sustainable use of outer space. In an era where more nations than ever have space programs, today's signings highlight a growing commitment to ensuring space exploration is conducted responsibly."

"As the first African nations to sign the Artemis Accords, Nigeria and Rwanda exemplify the global reach of the accords and are demonstrating their leadership in space exploration," he added.

Meanwhile, Nigeria has become the first African country to have SpaceX's high-speed, low latency broadband service Starlink available, in a move to provide all of its citizens broadband access by 2025, according to a statement by the White House.

President Muhammadu Buhari arrived in Washington D.C. on Sunday to attend the United States-Africa Leaders Summit. He was received by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; Nigeria's Ambassador to the United States, Dr. Uzoma Emenike; and the Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the UN, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande.

Accompanying Buhari were Bala Mohammed and AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, governors of Bauchi and Kwara respectively, as well as some ministers and other high-ranking government officials.