Athens: This year’s DEFEA 2023 international defence exhibition is focused on the Greek defence industry, which with 140 exhibitors presents its upgraded capabilities to support the Armed Forces, while participating in co-productions and industrial partnerships, actively busts the overall development effort of the country.
As about the capabilities of the Hellenic Defence Industry, in view of DEFEA, the President of the Hellenic Manufacturers of Defence Materiel Association (SEKPY), Tassos Rozolis emphasises: “In recent years, the domestic defence industry has taken particularly important steps to recover what it lost during the difficult years of the economic crisis. Now it presents these steps and the capabilities it has recovered, at DEFEA 2023.”
“Having left behind many of the distortions and mistakes of the past, it now focuses on a strong and healthy development with strong extroverted characteristics from which both the Greek defence companies and our country as a whole, can benefit economically and geopolitically,” he added.
Tassos Rozolis further stated, “In fact, the period we are going through is characterised by the intense developments in the wider region after the war in Ukraine which highlighted the need for the upgrade of the European defence industry in general. At the same time, in our country, many armament programmes worth several billion euros are under way, aiming to strengthen the Armed Forces deterrence capabilities.”
“Thus it is even more imperative that the need is not only to support the Greek defence industry, but also to upgrade the country’s geopolitical stance and at the same time to contribute to the economy and development,” he said.
The importance of DEFEA 2023 is also marked by the impressive participation of the Armed Forces and the Security Authorities of the Greek state. The Ministry of National Defence, under the auspices of which DEFEA is organised, with its active participation in the Exhibition preparation, maximizes the national benefits by inviting the political and military leaderships of friendly and allied countries.
The Ministry will also organise other conference and information events highlighting the geopolitical dimension of DEFEA. At the same time, the General Directorate of Defence Equipment and Investments, with its participation, will exploit the possibilities of international collaborations with the participating countries and industries. And not to omit the participation of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, which is also providing its auspices to DEFEA.
The Armed Forces General Staffs will have a special presence at the exhibition, presenting among others, their training activities and mainly the international exercises they organise hosting forces from allied and friendly countries. These exercises unveils the high standards of training of the Greek Armed Forces, in combination with the geographical elements, that can be utilised by friendly Armies.
At the same time, the Greek Police and the Coast Guard at their stands at the Exhibition will present their high level, both in terms of public security and safety, as well as in the currently complex issue of the protection of land and sea borders.
