President Karis: Europe’s economic renewal could be driven by it defence industry

Opening the Latvia-Estonia Business Forum held in Tallinn today, President Alar Karis said that the importance of the defence industry extends beyond security itself.

“I am convinced the industry has another role to play that is just as important: that of a key driver of economic growth, innovation and industrial development,” the head of state remarked. “In the decade ahead, the defence industry could become not just a strategic sector for the Baltic States, but one of the main drivers of Europe’s economic renewal.”

President Karis says that in terms of development, Estonia and Latvia have made significant strides over the last 30 years. “But if we want to move to the next level, we need companies and industries that will generate more knowledge, more innovation and more added value,” he urged. “In that regard, the defence industry has a great deal of potential.”

The head of state gave three reasons why the defence industry offers the Baltic States such a great opportunity for development. He said that Europe is entering an era of unprecedented defence investment and that the defence industry is one of the world’s most knowledge-intensive and technologically advanced sectors.

“A lot of companies are already operating very successfully in those sectors in our region,” he noted. “The defence industry could further accelerate their development by boosting cooperation between businesses, universities and research institutions, and by coming up with solutions that benefit the economy as a whole. Which is to say we have the three prerequisites we need to succeed: skills, capital and technology.”

President Karis nevertheless stressed that success requires close cooperation in addition to investments and good ideas. “No one company can build up a comprehensive defence industry ecosystem on its own,” he cautioned. “By working together in Estonia and Latvia, and across the European defence industry more broadly, we can bolster our supply chains, combine our strengths and gain access to markets that would be significantly harder for us to reach on our own.”

At the forum, the head of state joined his Latvian counterpart Edgars Rinkēvičs in presenting the Livonia Award to the Estonian company SK ID Solutions and the Latvian company Kalve in recognition of their contribution to the economy of and development of entrepreneurship in their neighbouring country.

Gallery (Marko Mumm/Office of the President): https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCY6Kh