Minister J. Naď meets with defence industry representatives: I believe we are opening a new and successful period of cooperation
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- Date: 10.09.2020
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Over 50 companies and organisations of the SVK security and defence industry have accepted an invitation to attend today′s meeting organised by the MOD′s Modernisation Department at the Garrison Club in Trenčín. The aim of the meeting was to launch effective cooperation and present the opportunities for SVK businesses to access national armaments projects as well as NATO and EU challenges.
Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “A strong and dynamic defence industry is a basic pre-requisite for security and peace in the transatlantic region. So far, our balance of participation in EU and NATO projects has been very low. Of all EU countries, not a single grant was awarded to our country from the European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP) in 2019.” For this reason, the meeting focused on the national and international initiatives and instruments which present significant opportunities for the SVK defence industry.
The need to support the domestic defence manufacturing sector is fully recognised by the SVK Government, led by Prime Minister Igor Matovič. In this respect, the SVK Government has made the improvement of the SVK defence industry′s research, development and manufacturing capacities a key priority, as set out in the SVK Government Manifesto.
Director General of the MOD′s Modernisation Department/National Armaments Director Jozef Zekucia is aware that joining international initiatives may be technically and administratively challenging for SVK companies. “For this reason, our subject matter experts and representatives of the NATO Support and Procurement Agency and the Permanent Representation of the Slovak Republic to the EU in Brussels are present at today′s meeting. We want to be helpful to them and set up an effective way of handling communications among all actors within the defence industrial cooperation in Slovakia and at NATO and EU levels,” he said.
During the meeting, Minister Naď confirmed that genuine support for the SVK defence industry is a key tender selection criterion for the MOD, which the MOD communicates to its foreign partners. He further reminded that the MOD is working towards its ambition to deliver on NATO′s 2 per cent GDP spending goal. “Naturally, this is being affected by the economic slowdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, SVK companies will be an important part of our defence spending increases,” he said.
He reminded that “some companies and different firms linked to the MOD used to suck funds out of Defence – but, with the MOD under my leadership, that era is now over.” In this context, the Minister called on all participants at the meeting to engage in active and fair cooperation.
Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “A strong and dynamic defence industry is a basic pre-requisite for security and peace in the transatlantic region. So far, our balance of participation in EU and NATO projects has been very low. Of all EU countries, not a single grant was awarded to our country from the European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP) in 2019.” For this reason, the meeting focused on the national and international initiatives and instruments which present significant opportunities for the SVK defence industry.
The need to support the domestic defence manufacturing sector is fully recognised by the SVK Government, led by Prime Minister Igor Matovič. In this respect, the SVK Government has made the improvement of the SVK defence industry′s research, development and manufacturing capacities a key priority, as set out in the SVK Government Manifesto.
Director General of the MOD′s Modernisation Department/National Armaments Director Jozef Zekucia is aware that joining international initiatives may be technically and administratively challenging for SVK companies. “For this reason, our subject matter experts and representatives of the NATO Support and Procurement Agency and the Permanent Representation of the Slovak Republic to the EU in Brussels are present at today′s meeting. We want to be helpful to them and set up an effective way of handling communications among all actors within the defence industrial cooperation in Slovakia and at NATO and EU levels,” he said.
During the meeting, Minister Naď confirmed that genuine support for the SVK defence industry is a key tender selection criterion for the MOD, which the MOD communicates to its foreign partners. He further reminded that the MOD is working towards its ambition to deliver on NATO′s 2 per cent GDP spending goal. “Naturally, this is being affected by the economic slowdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, SVK companies will be an important part of our defence spending increases,” he said.
He reminded that “some companies and different firms linked to the MOD used to suck funds out of Defence – but, with the MOD under my leadership, that era is now over.” In this context, the Minister called on all participants at the meeting to engage in active and fair cooperation.
