US VP Kamala Harris, French President Macron commemorate Armistice Day in Paris

United States Vice President Kamala Harris marked the 103rd anniversary of Armistice Day along with French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, November 11. Armistice Day is a remembrance of the truce signed between World War I Allies and Germany, marking the end of the First World War. It was a reminder of the "strong and historic" relationship with Paris and allies worldwide, the US VP wrote in an official Twitter post, where she also shared pictures from the day. The celebrations came after VP Harris met Macron at Elysee Palace in Paris to express her appreciation for close friendship and shared values between both nations. 

Harris is on a four-day trip that began on November 10, to "mend strained ties with France." Before the Armistice Day celebrations, Harris convened the Paris Peace Forum and Paris Conference on Libya. She also established a Comprehensive Dialogue on Space to enhance civil, commercial, national and cyber security, and space cooperation, the White House said in a statement. The dialogue led to an announcement of several collaborative initiatives that underscored the US commitment to work with allies and partners to take on the challenges of the 21st century.

US, France to bolster cooperation to maximise benefits from space offers

For decades, the United States and France have benefited from robust cooperation in space across "our respective civil, commercial, and national security sectors," the White House said in its statement. Experts from space organisations of the US, like NASA, will engage with their French counterparts to establish a regular bilateral dialogue to ensure a whole-of-government approach to space cooperation. The policies will be aimed at leveraging the growing importance of national, foreign and space objectives, the White House informed.

Furthermore, the White House informed that the US is committed to joining the Space Climate Observatory (SCO) and looks forward to working with France’s National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) to finalise the SCO Charter. Acknowledging the Paris Call, the White House added that it looks forward to continued partnership with France and other governments, the private sector, and civil societies around the world to advance and promote norms of responsible behaviour in cyberspace.

"Recognising 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 maximise the benefits space offers," the White House statement added.

(Image: @VP/Twitter)