The sea is a fundamental route for Chile’s development. Today, 95% of the country’s international trade uses the oceanic highway to reach its destination, and 45% of the local economy depends on it, according to data from the Ministry of Defense. A permanent development and strengthening of naval power is fundamental in this regard, so it is necessary to have a good industrial, scientific and technological base that provides solutions from innovation to the challenges of naval and maritime security. Responding to this scenario is one of the objectives of ExpoNaval 2022, the most relevant international maritime defense exhibition in the region, organized by FISA, of the GL events Group. This year it returned to Valparaiso and will be open to the public until tomorrow. This meeting point between the navies of Latin America and the world has gathered during the whole week actors of the world’s defense industry, shipyards, technology, maritime security, telecommunications, weapons systems and navigation. The Communications Department of the Chilean Navy emphasizes that precisely what comes out of this face-to-face meeting will be the most important contribution of this instance suspended since 2020 due to the health emergency. Bringing together the academic, business, entrepreneurial and naval delegations from different countries is also what Rodrigo Lobo, Corporate Affairs Manager of GL events, highlights, especially for the ideas and the exchange of experiences that can occur in the framework of the technical meetings. The connection with different suppliers of the world and the direct contact of these suppliers with the Navy is among the greatest contributions, in the eyes of Eduardo Aedo, general manager of DTS, one of the companies that is exhibiting at the event. “Knowing their vision of the future to be able to know how to invest in research and development and how to innovate according to the requirements they may have is very important”, says the executive. Other impacts The benefits will not only be for Chile and its industry. Lobo explains that the exchange of experiences between more than 20 countries is key, as they will be present with their products and their naval delegations. There are more than 70 exhibiting companies today at the Puerto Valparaíso Passenger Terminal. The local Navy projects that more than 300 business meetings will be held and tomorrow at the end of the day they expect to count more than 20 thousand visits from professionals. “These exchanges will undoubtedly generate business for both national and international companies present,” the institution says. In addition, the massive arrival of people to the city allows the community to get involved in these issues that are often considered only for experts. “This obviously brings relevant benefits for different sectors, such as tourism,” Lobo emphasizes. The focus In this opportunity, the central theme revolves around the latent challenges to achieve a maritime condition in accordance with the needs of the current century. Within this framework, the Navy is interested in giving a greater impulse to the Continuous National Shipbuilding Plan, which aims at developing a “modern, technological and powerful” industry in the creation of new technologies and in the local construction of ships useful to the institution and to the country. “A development of these characteristics will mean a global development from the academic point of view, creating university careers that in turn support this development, together with the increase in the activity of SMEs and various local and national services”, they say. Lobo believes that the institution will be useful to face the challenges of the “full exploitation” of the sea: tourism, mineral and energy resources, the coastal industry, cabotage, the development of the coastline and maritime terminals, as well as the fight against transnational organized crime. Source: Diario Financiero.