On September 18-20, the Ministry of Strategic Industries of Ukraine held the first joint French-Ukrainian Defense Industry Seminar. The Ministry's organizational partner was the French Association for Defense and Land Security (GICAT).
More than 35 French and about 80 Ukrainian companies and industry business associations, Defence Tech support clusters, representatives of the Ukrainian defense and security sector, and the diplomatic corps took part in the seminar.
"Ukraine aims to build a leading defense industry and become an arsenal of the free world. Cooperation with international companies and their involvement in the development of our defense industry is one of the key tasks to achieve this goal. Today's event is an important step in establishing such cooperation between defense companies of Ukraine and France, which will result in the establishment of long-term partnerships," said Deputy Minister for Strategic Industries of Ukraine Sergiy Boyev.
Jean-Marc Duquesne, Executive Director of the association, General (retired), noted that this event illustrates GICAT's activities in support of the French defense industry: "This bilateral event allowed us to deepen our relationship with a partner with invaluable knowledge through the exchange of experience. We hope that this event will soon lead to long-term cooperation between companies in our two countries."
Representatives of the Brave1 defense tech cluster were involved in the seminar. According to project manager Natalia Kushnerska, Brave1 aims to provide progressive defense tech teams with the opportunity to grow and develop dynamically by establishing international partnerships, attracting investment, and creating joint projects.
"The arrival of the French GICAT delegation and fruitful B2B meetings of the business communities of both countries, including a keen interest in Brave1 defense innovations, are proof of this. We are working together to win and strengthen the country's defense capabilities, as well as to develop breakthrough solutions that will protect the democratic world from any aggression," commented Natalia Kushnerska.
According to the companies, the seminar was fruitful. For example, Gauthier Lepers, a representative of the international group NSE, which specializes in defense, transportation and electronics, noted that the company is ready to cooperate with Ukraine in the long and short term and help the Ukrainian defense industry to get closer to NATO standards.
Communication with Western partners will continue within the framework of the International Defense Industries Forum.
Commentaires