On the first day, Wednesday, November 29th, the programme included European Defence Fund (EDF) matchmaking sessions, global matchmaking sessions, and plenary sessions for and between industries, government representatives, and other stakeholders. The event was organised by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) in coordination with the NIDV. The matchmaking consisted of two separate sessions; one focused on participants that were interested in and eligible for EDF projects while the other was open to both EDF-eligible and non-eligible parties interested in defence related international cooperation. The event saw the participation of entities from 18 countries and over 200 meetings were organised.
In the afternoon, plenary sessions took place. Several speakers from the Netherlands’ Ministry of Defence and other representatives of the international defence arena held presentations on topics related to sustainability applied to the defence and security sector.
The NEDS itself, scheduled on November 30th, was a success with more than 150 exhibitors, 36 international delegations and 3500+ visitors. The exhibition premises hosted a large international pavilion dedicated to the PIB countries, Greece, Malaysia, and South Korea. This pavilion included a meeting room where participating companies and delegations from the PIB countries could gather and meet potential customers/business partners.
A Hellenic delegation of government and industry representatives travelled from Greece to be present at the events. The members of this delegation included two high rank officers of the Hellenic Armed Forces in representation of the General Directorate for Defense Investments and Armaments (GDDIA), the president of the HASDIG defence association and the CEO of the company Hellenic Defence Systems (HDS).
Three Greek SMEs also joined in the two-days event.
The meetings of the Hellenic delegation contributed to generate new leads for future synergies and partnerships, strengthening the defence ties between the Netherlands and Greece.
Achieved results will lead to new insights and initiatives, paving the way for the next steps of the multi-level defence cooperation between our countries.
You can explore the NEDS website as we prepare for an even bigger and better NEDS 2024.
