Meeting Under Deputy Minister of National Defence Nikolaos Chardalias Concerning International Defence and Security Exhibition “DEFEA 2023”

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Meeting Under Deputy Minister of National Defence Nikolaos Chardalias Concerning International Defence and Security Exhibition "DEFEA 2023"

March 18, 2023

On Friday, 17 March 2023, a working meeting under the Deputy Minister of National Defence, Mr. Nikolaos Chardalias, with officials of the exhibition company ROTA SA took place at the Ministry of National Defence concerning the international defence and security exhibition "Defence Exhibition Athens - DEFEA 2023", which will take place from 9 to 11 May 2023 in Athens.

The meeting was attended by:

- On behalf of ROTA SA, the President of the Board, Mr. Georgios Tsaousoglou, the Managing Director, Mr. Alexis Lagoudakis, and the organiser of "DEFEA 2023", Mr. Vasilios Barkas.- The Directors of the Political and Military Offices of the Deputy Minister of National Defence, Ms Eleni Bobouand Captain Georgios ZourosHN, respectively, as well as competent Staff Officers from the Military Office of Deputy Minister of National Defence.

Participants discussed organisational and scheduling matters concerning the second DEFEA, which will host at least 350 top defence companies from 27 countries, either in national pavilions or as independent participants; in particular:

- National pavilionsfrom Armenia, Austria, France, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, the US, India, Israel, Italy, China, Cyprus, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, as well as the European Commission with the Directorate General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS).

- Independent participantsfrom the UK, Bulgaria, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Japan, Croatia, Norway, Poland, Romania, and Sweden.

- The Ministry of National Defence and the Hellenic National Defence General Staff with their own pavilions.

The organisation of the first DEFEA in 2021 was a great success, with 315 exhibitors from 22 countries and the presence of 45 official national delegations at the very high political and military level. This year, the bar has been set even higher. In cooperation with the Hellenic Manufacturers of Defence Material Association (SEKPY), which represents more than 150 certified Greek defence companies, and under the auspices of the Ministry of National Defence, DEFEA will be once again an exhibition worthy of the history of defence exhibitions of our country and the importance of its geopolitical position.

The Exhibition, whose goal is to constitute a reference point for the Southeast Europe and East Mediterranean region, will include defence industry events and workshops promoting the Greek defence industry, as well as EU and NATO initiatives such as the EDF Cross-Project Conference, and NATO defence innovation initiatives, such as the Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) and the NATO Innovation Fund.

Moreover, it will include side actions on special and current matters, such as: The Future of Firefighting: Impact on Life, Environment, Economy; Piloting, Validation, and Best Practices of Innovative Border Management Solutions; and Critical Infrastructure Protection.

DEFEA 2023 is also under the auspices of the Ministry of Citizen Protection and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy and supported by the Hellenic Aerospace Security & Defence Industries Group (HASDIG) and the Hellenic Association of Space Industry (Hellenic ASI).