Lisbon, Nov. 5, 2024 (Lusa) - Portugal's defence minister visited one of the sector's largest international fairs in Paris on Monday. He was there to discuss the modernisation of the Arsenal do Alfeite shipyards and meet with his French counterpart.
According to information released by the government, Nuno Melo visited Euronaval in Paris with defence industries and the future of the Alfeite Arsenal on the agenda.
The minister was accompanied by the chairman of the Board of Directors of Arsenal do Alfeite SA (AASA), Bernardo Soares, and the arsenal's executive member, Francisco Rebocho Antunes, as well as the Chief of Staff of the Navy, Admiral Henrique Gouveia e Melo and the Assistant Secretary of State for National Defence, Álvaro Castello-Branco.
Nuno Melo met with Portuguese businessmen at Euronaval, one of the world's largest defence fairs, at a time when the modernisation of the Alfeite Arsenal is being decided and "praised the capacity and technology of national companies and their contribution to the development of defence industries".
According to a statement from the ministry, the minister visited the Portuguese pavilion "and learnt about the models available on the market".
At the end of the visit, Nuno Melo met with his counterpart, Sébastien Lecornu, France's Minister of the Armed Forces. According to the ministry, the two politicians "discussed strengthening bilateral cooperation" between Portugal and France in Defence industries.
Eleven Portuguese companies are represented at Euronaval until Thursday, including Tekever, Thales Edisoft, EID, Blue Oasis, Beyond Composite, Oceanscan, Vera Navis, Lusospace, Meditor, Ricardo&Barbosa, and Beyond Vision. These companies are responsible for producing drones, unmanned underwater vehicles, communications and systems integration systems, moulds, high-precision tools, naval architecture, and naval engineering.
On 29 October, at a hearing in Parliament, the defence minister said that Arsenal do Alfeite's corporate model will have to be rethought, stressing that if it remains a reclassified public company, it will not be able to solve its current problems.
Nuno Melo said that Arsenal do Alfeite "really has to be saved, but it has to be saved in a challenging situation", emphasising that its infrastructure is obsolete, "designed for the last century" and unsuitable for the 21st century Navy.
Arsenal do Alfeite has experienced serious financial problems in the past, which led to salary delays and even Christmas bonuses in 2020 for the more than 400 workers who make up this company, which is responsible for repairing and maintaining the Portuguese Navy's ships.
ARL/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
