[PIO] Visit of the Director General of the Ministry of Defence to the 54th Paris International Air and Space Exhibition (Le Bourget)

The Director General of the Ministry of Defence, Mr. Andreas P. Louka, visited the 54th International Air and Space Exhibition in Paris (Le Bourget) on 19 and 20 June.

On the first day of the visit, after attending the opening of the exhibition, he made visits and held meetings in the exhibition halls of companies of the aerospace industry. He then went to the Hotel des Invalides where he signed a Letter of Intent for the joint procurement of Mistral anti-aircraft missiles. The Letter of Intent was co-signed by the Ministers of Defence of Belgium, France, Estonia and Hungary.

Subsequently, the Director-General participated in the last part of the European Air Defence Conference, which was held at the level of the Ministers of Defence. The purpose of the Conference was to exchange views on the strategic aspects of protecting Europe from air and missile threats. Mr Louca, in his intervention, stated that Europe must improve its air defence capabilities in order to be able to protect against the full range of airborne threats, in a 360° approach involving all European states. He also noted that the participation to the maximum extent possible of the European defence industry would reduce dependencies in this sensitive sector, strengthening European autonomy and it is in this context that the Republic of Cyprus participates in the joint Mistral procurement programme. The Conference concluded with closing remarks by the President of the French Republic, Mr. Emmanuel Macron.

During the second day, the Director General continued his visits and meetings at the showrooms of companies in the aerospace industry, and held meetings with officials from the Directorate General of Armaments of the Ministry of Defence of France and the Directorate of International Military Cooperation of the Ministry of Defence of the State of Israel, where issues of mutual interest were discussed.

/SX
Contents of this article including associated images are owned by PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
Source

[/P]