The bilateral meeting "Aerospace and Defense Industries" between Italy and Austria concluded yesterday at Palazzo Guidoni, headquarters of Segredifesa, which represented an important moment for the dialogue between the two nations. The activity followed the bilateral of last May, during which the full willingness of both countries to expand cooperation in the aeronautics, radar, UAV and space sectors was expressed.
The Secretary General of Defense and National Director of Armaments, Army Corps General Luciano Portolano, and the Austrian homonymous, Major General Harald Vodosek, acted as facilitators for a meeting Business-to-Business (B2B) between the authorities and the numerous representatives of the Italian and Austrian companies in the sector who took part. Present, among others, the commercial consul of Austria Gudrun Hager; the CEO of the Austrian Defense Industry and Security Group at the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber Reinhard Marak; the general secretary of the Federation of Italian Aerospace, Defense and Security Companies (Aiad) Carlo Festucci and the director of the commercial section of the Austrian embassy Ornella Di Benedetto.
During the interventions, new forms of intergovernmental interaction, possible industrial partnerships and support for cooperation were outlined. Among the issues touched upon, Italy confirmed its willingness to expand the contents of the bilateral agreement Government-to-Government (G2G) already in place with Vienna for the supply to the Austrian Armed Forces of some specimens of the Augusta LUH AW-169 helicopter.
General Portolano said he was very satisfied with the results of the work and defined the meeting as a clear sign of the willingness of the two countries to increase collaboration, support and mutual understanding, all elements necessary to improve cooperation not only in field of European security, but also to lay the foundations for future economic opportunities.
