RIYADH: International efforts to ensure the sustainability of outer space must also address security threats, as lack of progress in one area could undermine progress in the other.
The warning came from Ambassador Carlos Foradori at the Global Space Connectivity and Sustainability Events 2026 in Riyadh on Monday. Argentina’s permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, and chair of the Open-Ended Working Group on the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space, said that the two issues must be addressed together.
“These agendas are complementary, not competing,” he said. “Sustainability without security is fragile, because everything built for sustainability can be undone by a single hostile act.
“Security without sustainability is short-sighted, because some of the ways of pursuing military advantage in space would destroy the environment everyone depends on.”
Yet, sustainability and security in space are often discussed separately by different institutions, despite their shared concerns, Foradori said.
“Those who work on sustainability speak of debris mitigation, collision avoidance and spectrum coordination,” he explained. “Those of us who work on security speak of threats, capabilities, transparency and confidence-building.”
“But both groups are speaking about the same orbits, the same spectrum and, very often, the same satellites,” he said.
He said that space infrastructure had become increasingly important to countries around the world, as it supports economic activity, public services and national resilience.
“Space is no longer a privilege of a few,” he said. “It is a shared infrastructure on which developing and developed countries alike now build their economies, their public services and, increasingly, their resilience.”
Speaking to Arab News at the event, Foradori praised Saudi Arabia for its participation in the UN working group.
“Within our group, Saudi Arabia is extremely cooperative,” he said, adding that the Kingdom’s delegation in Geneva contributes to discussions aimed at ensuring the peaceful use of outer space.
Foradori acknowledged the challenges of finding common ground among member states amid geopolitical tensions but highlighted their continuing willingness to engage in discussions.
“We really, I mean, needless to say, are getting through a serious geopolitical problem at the moment, everywhere, not only in this region,” he said.
“So, the fact that … in this group, all member states, without exception, can really engage in discussions and conversations — I mean, for me, just that very simple factor is really a very positive accomplishment in our group.”
He noted that countries with differing geopolitical positions continued to be involved in the discussions: “At this moment, in the very same room, Russia, the United States, India, China, Pakistan, Europe and many other countries, and the rest of the international community, are all fully engaged in this matter.”