Organised every two years, the Euronaval exhibition is preparing its 27th edition, to be held from 20th to 23rd October 2020 in Paris – Le Bourget. Euronaval is a conference and trade show dedicated to maritime safety and the naval defence industry. For 50 years, it has been the world’s leading event for innovation and naval technologies of the future, a privileged meeting place for industrialists from all over the world and military and state navy decision makers.
The end of lock down and the resumption of industrial and commercial activity in France and in a large part of the world are all positive and encouraging signs after this troubling period of doubt and difficulty. “The formal and courageous decision to maintain the exhibition in October was eagerly awaited by industrialists, decision-makers and navy consultants from the five continents. It supports and reinforces the organisers’ determination to make Euronaval the key event for the naval defence industry in 2020, says Hugues d’Argentré, Euronaval’s Managing Director in an interview to Asian Defence Technology.
Despite the COVID-19 crisis, the GICAN’s Board of Directors voted to maintain the 2020 edition of Euronaval. What motivated this decision?
Several things. First of all, the decision was taken in the spirit of participating in the effort to revive the naval sector, but also the economy in a more general manner. The GICAN of course wants to support the entire French sector and the employment opportunities that result from it, but also on an international scale by maintaining this major event. EURONAVAL 2020 will be the first and only naval defence exhibition this year, which will make it even more strategic and essential than previous editions. Secondly, we are taking a committed stance. We want to show the world that France has indeed started its recovery, that the naval industry is proving to be resilient and is maintaining its spirit of enterprise and market competition. Finally, most of the indicators are positive today. We have sold as much space as for the previous edition at the same date, we have a high number of applications for the SEAnnovation space and around 150 delegations have received their invitations for the event. All these parameters allow us today to be optimistic and envisage a successful and highly useful 2020 edition.
What will be new for this edition? What are the favoured themes or highlights?
This year we will inaugurate the CYBER NAVAL HUB pavilion dedicated to cybersecurity and led by CEIS, a specialist in cyber defence. Industrialists, administrations or research institutes who will be present in this space will have the opportunity to exhibit their innovative solutions, intervene on targeted issues in the field of defence system protection applied to the naval sector, and exchange with the entire cyber and naval ecosystem gathered for the occasion.
We are also delighted to renew two spaces that were created for EURONAVAL 2018 which received a very positive response from our visitors:
Firstly SEAnnovation, a pavilion hosting around thirty start-ups from France and abroad, selected after a call for applications, representing the diversity of the naval defence and maritime security sectors. During his visit to the show in 2018, the President of the French Republic was particularly interested in this space and took the time to talk to several start-ups.
Also the Trade Vessel, a space dedicated to training, trades and employment in the naval sector, in partnership with the GICAN and the Campus des Industries Navales, inaugurated in 2018 by the French Minister of Education and Youth, Mr. Jean-Michel Blanquer.
As for the workshops, we will be addressing topics ranging from the geopolitical issues of certain regions of the world to the European defence fund for structuring permanent cooperation, not forgetting the future of submarines and autonomous systems.
Anything you would like to add?
All the teams at SOGENA and the GICAN are mobilised to offer exhibitors as well as visitors, industrialists and delegations, an exhibition that lives up to their expectations.
All health safety measures will be implemented to ensure a smooth and safe running of the exhibition. We are doing our utmost to ensure that EURONAVAL 2020 will be the defence and naval industry highlight of the year, with innovative and unprecedented content.
We have strong support from the Ministry of the Armed Forces and in particular the Directorate General for Armaments, which this year is providing exceptional human and financial support.
Finally, I would like to say that Euronaval 2020 is THE exhibition to attend this year!
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