CNN Insights: Building a Greek Defense Digital Technology Ecosystem
CNN Insights event titled “Defense Tech: Building the Greek Ecosystem for Digital Defense Technologies” took place on Monday March 30 at Aegli Upstairs (Zappeion Garden), featuring keynote speakers including the Minister of National Defense Nikos Dendias, the Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance Nikos Papathanasis and the Ambassador of France in Greece Laurence Auer.
Within the framework of the event, leading speakers from the defense and technology sectors highlighted the opportunities and challenges emerging for the Greek ecosystem, the progress achieved to date, as well as the roadmap for the years ahead, in an era of rapid technological and geopolitical changes.
Mr. Dendias emphasised among other points, that in the emerging global landscape, “security can no longer be taken for granted. Therefore, we are obliged to invest in our defence capabilities,” adding that “the integration of technology into defence is a central question of our time, as well as a critical issue for the defence of our country.”
Similarly, Mr. Papathanasis noted that Greece is now becoming a role model in the defence sector, as it was the first country to submit a request for the reallocation of resources, amounting to 10% of the 2021–2027 programming period towards new priorities, including defence-related initiatives, dual-use technologies and artificial intelligence.
For her part, Ambassador Auer referring to defence and bilateral relations between France and Greece, stressed that “we have the historical foundations of industrial cooperation between France and Greece.”
Among the speakers participating in the discussion on the importance of transformation, the role of the Greek defense industry and the future of dual-use technologies in Greece were: Pantelis Tzortzakis, CEO of HCDI (Hellenic Center for Defense Innovation), Brigadier General Georgios Panousis, Director of the C Branch of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff (GEETHA), Dr. Haris Lampropoulos, Chairman of the Hellenic Development Bank of Investments (HDBI), Dr. Konstantinos Karantzalos, Secretary General of Telecommunications and Post, Dr. Grigoris Koutsogiannis, CEO of EFA GROUP, Christos Tarantilis, Partner and Government & Public Sector Lead at EY Greece, Tasos Rozolis, President of SEKPY, Vasilis Chaloulakos, Managing Director of ICEYE Hellas, Michalis Kasimiotis, Managing Director of HPE Greece & Cyprus, and Dr. Giorgos Dimas, R&D Director at nvisionist.
The conference was held with the kind sponsorship of EFA GROUP, EY, ICEYE and NVISIONIST, and under the auspices of HCDI (Hellenic Centre for Defence Innovation). The event is part of the CNN Insights series organised by CNN Greece, aimed at highlighting critical contemporary issues and was also broadcast live via live streaming.
