Today, Saturday 25 April 2026, the Minister of National Defence, Nikos Dendias, met with the Minister of the Armed Forces of France, Catherine Vautrin, aboard Frigate KIMON, within the framework of the visit of the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, to Greece. During the meeting, which was also attended by the Chief of Hellenic National Defence General Staff, General Dimitrios Choupis, the Chief of Hellenic Navy General Staff, Vice Admiral Dimitrios – Eleftherios Kataras HN, and delegations of the two countries, they discussed the further deepening of the defence cooperation between Greece and France, as well as the security developments in the broader region.
Earlier, Mr. Dendias and Ms. Vautrin accompanied the Greek Prime Minister and the French President during their visit to Frigate KIMON.
After the visit, Mr. Dendias went to Maximos Mansion where, in the presence of the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron, he signed with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Giorgos Gerapetritis, the Minister of the Armed Forces of France, Catherine Vautrin, and the Minister Delegate for European Affairs of the French Republic, Benjamin Haddad, the renewal of the Strategic Partnership Agreement for Cooperation in Defence and Security between Greece and France.
Mr. Dendias also attended the signing of the Declaration of Intent for Cooperation in Defence Research and Development and Innovation of Defence and Military Technologies and Systems by the CEO of the Hellenic Centre for Defence Innovation (HCDI), Dr. Pantelis Tzortzakis, and the Deputy Director of the French Defence Innovation Agency, Nicolas Cordier-Lallouet.
Furthermore, he attended the signing of the Framework Agreement for the follow-on support of MICA IR/RF missiles and the 1st Executive Contract of 2026 between the Ministry of National Defence of the Hellenic Republic and MBDA France by the General Director of the General Directorate for Defence Investments and Armaments of the Ministry of National Defence, Major General Ioannis Bouras, and the CEO of MBDA France, Eric Béranger.
