Valparaiso. – With a high participation of public and private institutions, both national and from America, Europe and Asia, Exponaval 2024, the most important meeting of the naval and defense industry in Latin America, which gathered more than 110 exhibitors in an area of 14 thousand m2, ended successfully.

The fair, which was held at the Puerto Valparaíso Passenger Terminal, was attended by 4,939 professional visitors, an increase of 9.3% over the previous edition, and presented the best of the naval and defense industry in four days of exhibition, as well as becoming the meeting point for the Armed Forces, suppliers and industry professionals.

“This fair, which is held every two years in Chile, is an important link within these purchasing processes, as an effective meeting point between shipping companies, naval institutions, port companies and suppliers of products and services with state-of-the-art technology for their activities,” said Francisco Sotomayor, executive director of Fisa, organizer of the event sponsored by the Navy.

“This interest in shipbuilding is even more relevant when the global market is projecting a 4% annual growth in shipbuilding until 2034 as a result of the lack of second-hand frigates due to different conflicts, which means a great opportunity in terms of investment and employability”, added Sotomayor.
This version was attended by official delegations from 24 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Spain, the United States, Finland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Peru, the United Kingdom, Turkey and Uruguay, among others. In fact, visitors accounted for 23% of the total number of attendees, consolidating the international character of the exhibition.

“We had a positive impact due to the presence of numerous international naval delegations headed by senior officials, as well as important executives of the maritime-port sector, which allowed us to project a highly positive scope to the meetings held with the various exhibiting companies present at the fair,” said Rodrigo Bastidas, manager of the fair, organized by Fisa of the GL events Group.

In parallel to the exhibition, the International Congress was held under the theme: “Challenges for the defense industry in the new international order”, with the participation of 22 leading national and international experts, and included keynote speeches by Admiral (R) James Stavridis, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander (2009-2013), and Vice Admiral Martin Connell, Second Sea Lord of the British Royal Navy, who presented on Thursday, December 5.

“This year our International Congress had talks of the highest level and was an instance that was highly valued by all those attending the fair. It was a space for analysis and debate that was configured in a great way and in which we reflected on the facts that impact the work of the naval and maritime industry”, said Carola Fuentes, general manager of Fisa.
Parallel to the fair, the Trans-Port Congress was held under the title “Vision 2040: safety and sustainability in the maritime industry” and was deployed during the first day and included a keynote speech, an exhibition, two panels and the participation of 16 leading professionals in the sector, who discussed topics such as maritime decarbonization, artificial intelligence in transportation, port challenges of the future and port security.