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Czech delegation and businesses at CANSEC, the largest Canadian defence show

31.05.2024 / 19:43 | Aktualizováno: 31.05.2024 / 20:29

On May 29th and 30th in Ottawa, Ambassador Martin Tlapa and Radka Konderlová, Director General of the Industrial Cooperation Division at the Ministry of Defence, led the Czech delegation, the third largest in attendance behind only Ukraine and the United States, at CANSEC 2024 in Ottawa. CANSEC is Canada’s largest defence and security show. It provided opportunities for Czech defence officials and companies to meet key government counterparts and leading Canadian companies including MDA Space, CAE and Blackberry. The program was successfully implemented by the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Ottawa as a Czech economic diplomacy project (PROPED) in cooperation with the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic.

The delegation held meetings with dozens of Canadian government officials, associations andd companies during the two day event, with some of the most notable meetings having been held with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), the Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC). Topic covered in the meetings included the Canadian Munition Supply Program and the Government of Canada’s ongoing efforts to develop national capabilities for the production of small arms and ammunition as well as the provision of related services. Importantly, Czech owned Colt Canada is one of five designated suppliers for the Munition Supply Program, serving as a vital component of Canada’s defence strategy and as a platform for cooperation between the Czech Republic and Canada in defence and security initiatives. Subsequent meetings focused on intensifying Czech-Canadian industrial defence cooperation and Canadian support of the Czech led ammunition procurement initiative for Ukraine. 

In addition to dozens of meetings Czech companies, such as Wikov, Tatra, Uptim.ai and Dronetag, also attended meetings alongside the Czech officials, including with MDA Space, Canada’s largest space company, and CAE, a global leader in pilot training for both civil and defence aviation. During these meetings, the companies explored opportunities for supply chain integration and service assimilation. The Czech company Dronetag, which was recently chosen as one of the select companies for the prestigious Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA), spearheaded by NATO, had meetings with researchers from the Canadian Universities about possible cooperation in drone testing capabilities.

Czech officials and Colt Canada reaffirmed joint commitment and cooperation on a range of ongoing initiatives, including support for Ukraine. 

Altogether, the Czech delegation’s participation and active engagement with international counterparts reinforced Canada and the Czech Republic’s shared commitment to the continued support of Ukraine, industrial cooperation and strengthening of economic and business ties.

 The Czech mission to CANSEC 2024 was successfully implemented by the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Ottawa as a Czech economic diplomacy project (PROPED) in cooperation with the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic.