Our Vice President and auntie Kamala Harris met with French President Emmanuel Macron at the NASA headquarters in D.C. Wednesday, according to several reports.
The visit included a working meeting and briefing by space officials to foster strong relations between the U.S. and France. The visit was intended to discuss space innovation and bilateral ties between the two countries.
Macron’s visit comes at a key time for his administration and was planned to invigorate relations with the European country after a surprise US-Australian submarine partnership toppled France’s submarine deal with Australia. The collaboration elicited a fierce response from the French, upending relations between U.S. and France. Harris and Macron’s meeting signaled that the two countries were open to turning a new leaf. As chair of the National Space Council, Harris inviting Macron to D.C. was meant to strengthen French-American space cooperation.
On Thursday, Harris is expected to co-host a lunch for the French president at the State Department – normal protocol for official state visits. But the highlight of Macron’s trip, political analysts say, was his visit to NASA, which showed that both Harris and Macron want to strengthen relations between the U.S. and France.
US and French officials said Harris was eager to meet with Macron during his visit this week to continue to develop a relationship with the French leader and highlight progress on space cooperation.
Macron’s visit to the NASA headquarters showcased “our deepening collaboration on space in support of Earth, climate, and space science and space exploration,” a senior administration official told CNN.
The meeting follows the first US-France Comprehensive Dialogue on Space in Paris, “a whole-of-government dialogue that was agreed to during Harris’s trip last year,” said CNN.
“Harris and Macron will review the progress on space cooperation between the two countries over the last year and receive a briefing from NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials who have been engaging with their French counterparts.”
