International arms fair Partner 2017 opens – Arrival of foreign companies to Serbian military industry to be enabled

President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic announced that the Ministry of Defense had prepared amendments to the law which would enable the arrival of foreign companies to the defense industry of Serbia, with ownership participation of up to 49%.

At the opening of the International Arms and Military Equipment Exhibit Partner 2017 in Belgrade, Vucic said that it would enable the arrival of foreign knowledge and money and secure Serbian arms industry factories' becoming the main driving engine of the development of Serbian economy and their participation in the growth of the gross domestic product to a considerable extent.

He said that it was an important step forward and that the Government of Serbia had invested EUR 126 million from 2014 till 2016 in enhancing the capacities of the existing defense industry plants in Serbia, while also building new factories and facilities.

The president added that, in 2017 alone, nearly EUR 50 million had been set aside for military plants, in addition to the money the factories themselves had decided to invest and added that that would prove to be a considerable factor in the strengthening of their capacities.

Partner 2017 is being held on June 27-30, 2017, and the event is sponsored by the Ministry of Defense, in cooperation with JP Jugoimport SDPR, and organized by the Belgrade Fair.

A total of 128 exhibitors from 21 countries, including Serbia, are taking part in Partner 2017. The new Nora and the missile launcher Sumadija will be presented at the fair exclusively.

The 155-mm Nora is considerably different that the current one, with all the flaws removed and complaints addressed, Minister of Defense Zoran Djordjevic explained prior to the fair.

Launchers of 107 millimeters, new mortar equipment, the command vehicle for Alas (a missile system), as well as the 300-km launcher for the Sumadija missile will also be presented at the fair.

The fair will be visited by numerous high representatives from all over the world, as well as representatives of NATO, European Defense Agency and other international military and security organizations.

The Military Medical Academy will also take part in this year's fair.

Ministarstvo odbrane Republike Srbije

Vojnomedicinska akademija-VMA Beograd

International Arms and Military Equipment Exhibit Partner 2017

Ministry of Defense

Belgrade Fair

Partner 2017

NATO

European Defense Agency

Military Medical Academy

Aleksandar Vucic

Nora

Sumadija missile

Zoran Djordjevic

Alas missile system