MOSCOW, April 9. /TASS/. Russia is preparing to sign deals with a number of post-Soviet, Asian and Middle Eastern countries to train their cosmonauts and create telecommunication and remote sensing satellites, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said during the Russian Space Forum.

"Preliminary work is being carried out with a number of countries from the CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States], Asia, Africa and Middle East to train national cosmonauts for manned space missions and to create telecommunication and remote sensing satellites," he said.

Therefore, space remains an area bringing countries from various continents closer, Manturov added. In his words, Russia has always been open to cooperation on all types of activities in space.

"We believe that this cooperation should be deepened in accordance with the principle of equal access to space, respect for national interests and the need to preserve space for future long-term use for peaceful purposes," the first deputy vice premier said.

Manturov also emphasized Russia’s readiness to broaden global cooperation on space agenda.

About the forum

The first Russian Space Forum is being held at the National Center RUSSIA on April 9 as part of Space Week 2026. Delegations from 40 countries are participating in the event. The forum will feature 13 sessions across five thematic blocks, as well as a plenary session entitled Space Agenda 2030+: Global Challenges and National Strategies with the participation of international partners.

Space Week 2026 is dedicated to the 65th anniversary of Yury Gagarin's legendary flight. The first-ever Russian Space Week is taking place from April 6 to 12. The decree establishing this annual event was signed by the Russian president on December 29, 2025. Roscosmos is the organizer.

TASS is the media sponsor of Space Week 2026.