Defense minister to introduce Estonian defense industry in Paris

TALLINN - Minister of Defense Juri Luik will introduce Estonia's defense industry and meet with leaders of defense contractors at the Eurosatory exhibition taking place in Paris this week.

According to Luik, close relations with allies' defense industry help strengthen Estonia's allied relations more broadly. "The Estonian defense industry has undergone remarkable development in recent years and increased cooperation among allied countries contributes to the security and sense of safety of us all," he said through a spokesperson.

"The Estonian defense industry has developed and grown rapidly, including on export markets," head of the Estonian Defense Industry Association Ingvar Parnamae said. "At Eurosatory, a number of new products will be shown, cooperation agreements with other countries' defense industry companies will be concluded, and several Estonian companies also have developed new innovative solutions in cooperation." Furthermore, defense fairs are places where established contacts translate into concrete sale agreements, which will increase Estonian exports and give work to our companies, he added.

On Tuesday Luik will acquaint himself with Estonian and Latvian exhibits and meet with his Latvian counterpart, Raimonds Bergmanis.

He has also meetings planned with representatives of Hanwha Land Systems, the manufacturer of the K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers, Saab, Lockheed Martin, Rheinmetall, Raytheon, BAE Systems, MBDA, General Dynamics Land Systems, KMW, Bittium, and Austrian defense contractors.

Estonian participants in the fair are Defendec, Eli, Soleest, Galvi-Linda, Bristol Trust, Toci, Threod Systems, Terramil, Milrem Robotics and Milectria.