Industry consolidation

On the second day of the International Defence Industry Exhibition, Undersecretaries of State in the Ministry of National Defence, Marin Idzik, and the Ministry of the Treasury, Krzysztof Hubert Łaszkiewicz, the same as in previous years, had a meeting with senior managers of companies operating in the Polish defence industry.

The debate started with a speech delivered by President of the Management Board of Targi Kielce, Andrzej Mochoń, relating to the origin of the meetings attended by vice-ministers of defence and the treasury as well as by defence industry entrepreneurs. The speech given by Minister Łaszkiewicz included a premise that a new value to be brought into the mutual relations between the defence ministry and this industry consists in an accurate determination of the defence ministry's plans relating to the modernization of the Armed Forces. The minister also emphasized the progress made in the implementation of the defence industry consolidation plan, with the BUMAR capital group playing the pivotal role in this project. What he finds crucial for the future of the Polish defence sector is winning new foreign markets for domestic companies' products.

Minister Idzik expressed his belief that the exchange of opinions initiated at this meeting will continue during the Industry Days to be organized by the Ministry of National Defence in November. The minister pointed out two key areas which representatives of the defence industry consider to be especially important, i.e. the organizational changes to the defence ministry department that he is in charge of, including the establishment of the Armament Inspectorate, as well as focusing the armament and military equipment modernization process on 14 operational programmes.

The meeting was not confined to speeches being delivered by the government officials. With president Mochoń acting as its moderator, the discussion addressed many issues of great significance for the modernization of the Armed Forces and the future development of the defence industry. These included the new regulations within the relations between the army and industry, long-term agreements, as well as the scope of and finance for research and development projects in the defence sector.