Modi Tells Paris Space Summit Cooperation Must Outweigh Confrontation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the first International Space Summit in Paris by video conference, thanking French President Emmanuel Macron for convening the gathering and extending an invitation. He said space, long a source of inspiration, now touches daily life on Earth — from climate and crops to oceans and communities — and that its promise carries a shared responsibility.

Noting that orbits are growing more crowded, technologies more capable and the number of actors larger, Modi said partnerships must favour long-term sustainability over immediate advantage. He framed the choice before the international community as cooperation over confrontation, sustainability over short-term gain and inclusion over exclusion.

He tied India's approach to the ethos of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam — One Earth, One Family, One Future — and said New Delhi supports a safe, secure, peaceful and sustainable space domain anchored in international law, dialogue and multilateral cooperation. Scientific data, he added, must serve the common good with openness and integrity.

Highlighting the practical reach of satellite technology in weather forecasting, disaster management and navigation, Modi said these capabilities serve grassroots communities, including farmers and fishermen. He credited the Indian Space Research Organisation with global admiration for its excellence and cost-effective missions, and paid tribute to generations of scientists, engineers and technicians who, he said, built that reputation mission by mission.

On international collaboration, he noted that Indian launch vehicles have carried more than 430 payloads from 34 countries, and said ISRO's technologies and partnerships serve not only India but the wider world. He cited Aditya-L1's study of the Sun, an Indian astronaut's visit to the International Space Station last year, and Chandrayaan-3's landing near the lunar south pole — the first by any nation.

Looking ahead, Modi announced plans for an indigenous space station by 2035 and an Indian astronaut on the Moon by 2040, saying the guiding principle is that the benefits must reach all humanity. He also pointed to a fast-growing private space sector, describing a synergy in which the energy of enterprise joins the excellence of ISRO.

Recalling France's role as a partner since the Indian space programme's beginnings at Thumba in the 1960s, he said current cooperation spans Earth observation and advanced technologies, uniting scientific excellence with human purpose. He invited France and other countries to join India's next space frontier, closing with a call for the summit to show that space will be explored, innovated and protected together for all humanity and future generations.