Minister Naď at IDEB 2022: A stable security industry is one of the fundamental pillars of defence and security

Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď, Deputy Defence Minister Marian Majer and Chief of Defence Gen Daniel Zmeko took part in the official opening ceremony of the International Defence Exhibition Bratislava (IDEB) 2022, a showcase of the latest military technology and equipment with traditional participation from the SVK Armed Forces and a number of SVK defence companies, at Bratislava's Incheba exhibition centre today (10 May 2022).

Speaking at the IDEB opening ceremony, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “Today, more than ever before, we come to convince ourselves how important high quality and advanced military technology, weaponry, equipment and clothing are. Moreover, it is being proven that a stable and dynamically evolving security industry must be one of the fundamental pillars of defence and security in the Euro-Atlantic area. It is, in particular, the defence shows such as IDEB – of which we have been a proud partner on Defence and Security for 14 years – that have been playing a decisive role in the development of industries.” To that end, he pointed to the essential role the IDEB platform has taken on in forging relations in the triangle of countries, companies and international agencies.

Minister Naď underlined the importance of advances in defence technology and of the manufacturing industry for Armed Forces modernisation, saying: “Slovakia is undergoing the historically most significant modernisation of our Armed Forces. Today, we have over 100 modernisation programmes open and running, ranging from the smallest to the largest ones. Towards delivering the tracked and wheeled AFV programmes, now at their final stage of procurement, we are going to invest a total of around €2bn in the coming years. Of course, with the emphasis that our Armed Forces modernisation must go hand in hand with the development of the SVK defence industry.”

As well as touring the IDEB exhibition and showing their support for the exhibiting Slovak companies, Minister Naď and Deputy Minister Majer used the occasion to host talks with their counterparts – Czech Defence Minister Jana Černochová and Hungarian Deputy Defence Minister István Szabó. Central themes of the bilateral ministerial meeting included the Ukraine conflict developments and the building of NATO's multinational battlegroup in Slovakia, with Czechia, as the framework country, contributing a 240-strong contingent.

Boasting of 16,500 square meters of exhibition space, this year's IDEB brought together over 100 exhibitors from 15 countries. The defence and security trade show enjoyed the highest visitor turnout in years.