Colombia. The sixth version of Expodefensa, which began today December 4 in Corferias and is carried out for the second time by Coges International, seeks to be the point of reference of the Latin American continent and the world thanks to the wide presence of foreign guests and the orientation of the country towards the creation of technology with a greater international vision.
In this regard, the Minister of Defense of Colombia, Luis Carlos Villegas, revealed that the change of the current political and military context of the country with the arrival of peace and its subsequent strengthening, has led the Colombian defense and security industry to develop technology "with a more international vision" to accompany organizations such as the United Nations, the Organization of American States (OAS), the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in their peacekeeping missions.
"We have made this knowledge available to Colombian forces as foreigners, in a way that provides solutions from the experiences learned from the region and other parts of the world," he said.
Likewise, the head of the Defense Portfolio, recalled that "industrial and service companies generated about US $ 1,100 million the previous year, a record figure for the country. Of the total of this, the Colombian Military Industry, Indumil, achieved 310 million dollars between 2015 and 2016, which has allowed it to obtain business today with South Africa, Panama, usa, Israel and the United Arab Emirates, among others.
For his part, the director of International Business of Corferias, Roberto Vergara, said that the fair seeks to be the HUB event of the Latin American, Central America and the Caribbean region, where the consolidation of commercial relations between countries and entrepreneurs linked to this industry is sought.
He added that "in all sectors of the economy, competition is waged in knowledge and therefore the value chains of all sectors must be strengthened. The strategic positioning of nations depends on their economic, military influence and the capacity for innovation that one has."
The executive director of Coges International, Patrick Colas Des Francs, stressed that the numerous companies and global actors present at Expodefensa position the event as "one of the great international meetings" in the field of defense thanks to four main pillars of development: international dimension, business search, technological knowledge and dynamics of reflection of several actors in the sector.
"The presence of international delegations from friendly countries, as well as numerous companies and global actors in the technology sector that were not present to date, will be during these three days demonstrated the internationalization of Expodefensa and its consolidation as one of the great international events in the field of Defense and Security on the planet," he said.
