Yesterday, Tuesday 9 May 2023, the day that the International Defence and Security Exhibition “Defence Exhibition Athens-DEFEA” started, the Deputy Minister of National Defence Mr Nikolaos Hardalias signed a Memorandum of Understanding, regarding cooperation in the Defence field, on behalf of the Hellenic Government’s Ministry of National Defence, with his counterpart Ms. Marian Majer from the Defence Ministry of the Republic of Slovakia. The signing of the Memorandum took place in the presence of the Minister of National Defence Mr. Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, at “Athens Metropolitan Expo” Exhibition site, in the area of Athens International Airport “Eleftherios Venizelos”, in Spata, Attica.
The said bilateral military cooperation concerns fields like Security & Defence, Research & Development, armaments, legislation, information exchange in matters of mutual interest, mutual participation of the Hellenic and Slovakian Armed Forces in military exercises, training programmes, as well as common sports/cultural activities, on the basis of an Annual Organised Cooperation Plan.
In addition, in the margins of the first day of “DEFEA-23”, the Deputy Minister of National Defence had a series of bilateral meetings and contacts with his counterparts and high officials from the EU member states, as well as third countries. More specifically, Mr. Hardalias successively met with:
– the Assistant Undersecretary for Support & Defence Industries of the Defence Ministry of the United Arab Emirates, Major General Mubarak Saeed GhafanAl Jabri.
– the Deputy Minister of Defence of the Republic of Armenia, Ms. Karen Brutyan. The meeting was also attended by the Director General of Defence Armaments & Investments of the Ministry of National Defence, Vice Admiral (ret.) Aristeidis Alexopoulos HN.
– the Director General of the Defence Ministry of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Andreas P. Loukas.
– the Deputy Minister for Defence of the Republic of Ghana, Mr. Kofi Amankwa-Manu.
– the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisitions, Logistics and Technology (ASA AL & T) of the U.S. Defence Ministry, Mr. Douglas Bush.
– The State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Slovakia, Ms. Marian Majer.
In the context of the meetings, which took place in a cordial and friendly climate, matters of mutual interest were discussed, focusing on the initiatives development aiming at reinforcing individual cooperation between Greece and the aforementioned countries, in the fields of Defence and Security, emphasising the fields of Defence Industry and of mutual training of the Armed Forces.
Specifically, ways of deepening the bilateral relations of our country with the said countries were explored, with common events and actions in fields like exercises and co-trainings while, at the same time, views were exchanged regarding the current geopolitical developments and their effect on security and stability, both at a global, regional and national level.
The Deputy Minister of National Defence also visited the pavilions of the Hellenic Police, the Fire Service, the Hellenic Defence Systems, the Hellas Sat, the Smart Flying Machines, whereas regarding the international participations he visited the U.S. pavilion, where he toured the sites with the M270A2 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) weapon system and the UH-60M Blackhawk helicopters and addressed crews members. Finally, he visited the pavilions of LOCKHEED MARTIN and ONEX SHIPYARDS & TECHNOLOGIES GROUP and was informed on the new high technologies and their provided capabilities, and addressed companies’ members and visitors.
Mr. Hardalias, during his attendance in “DEFEA-23”, was accompanied by the Director of the Private Office of the Deputy Minister of National Defence Ms. Eleni Bombou, the Director of the Military Office of the Deputy Minister of National Defence Captain Georgios Zouros HN, the head of the Staff Coordination Group of the Military Office of the Deputy Minister of National Defence Major Georgios Panagiotopoulos, the Head of the Legal Department of the Military Office of the Deputy Minister of National Defence Ms. Eleni Rapti and the Staff Officer of the Military Office of the Deputy Minister of National Defence and Liaison on “DEFEA” matters, Captain Chrysanthi Anagnostopoulou.
