On the evening of Wednesday, November 22, the official launching of Exponaval 2024, the international exhibition and congress to be held on December 3 and 6 next year at the Puerto Valparaíso Passenger Terminal, took place at the Club Naval de Valparaíso. The activity was attended by the Minister of Defense (S) Ricardo Montero, the Commander in Chief of the Navy, Admiral Juan Andrés De La Maza, the Director General of the Navy Services, Rear Admiral Leonardo Chávez, Members of Parliament, the Ambassador of the United Kingdom, Louise De Sousa, the General Manager (a) of FISA, Rodrigo Lobo, representatives of the naval high command, the Armed Forces and of Order and Security, Naval and Defense Attachés accredited in Chile, among other personalities. “It is a real honor to welcome you all to the launch of the upcoming Exponaval fair, which represents a unique opportunity to bring together industry leaders, defense experts, government officials and professionals from around the world to discuss and address the most pressing challenges we face in the field of security and defense, especially in the naval world,” said Minister of Defense Ricardo Montero. In the midst of an atmosphere of camaraderie and enthusiasm for the meeting, the Navy expressed its interest in the event and anticipated that it will once again play a key role. “This fair has become a great center of analysis and debate that has been responding to the concerns and facts that impact the work of the naval and maritime industry, and that affects all countries, and therefore, the world population in the field of knowledge, the international congress will be designed to address current issues, and we believe it will provide a comprehensive view of the challenges in the future,” said the general director of the Navy services, Rear Admiral Leonardo Chavez. The international fair will be held from December 3 to 6, 2024, and will feature more than 120 exhibiting companies from 45 countries. Consolidated as the most important event of its kind at a regional level since it emerged in 1998, in this edition the various companies are expected to exhibit the main technological advances and innovations in shipbuilding, naval equipment, propulsion systems, maritime safety, marine renewable energies and other related aspects of the defense industry. Rodrigo Lobo, general manager (a) of FISA, part of the GL events group, thanked for the call and projected the new version. “For 2024 we hope to exceed the expectations of the 2022 version, where we were still suffering the last post-pandemic effects. In next year’s event we expect to gather more than 120 exhibiting companies -with 70% of international companies-, more than 30 delegations from friendly countries and over 10,000 accredited visitors, all in a total area of 16,000 m2”, said the executive. “Next year’s event has a particular character due to the contingency that we are living, the world contingency has to force us to think differently, to reflect and to understand in a better way what is happening, it is this type of instances that serve us for that exchange, to meet, to talk, to receive friendly countries and also to discuss topics about new technologies, innovation and the role of strategic defense companies”, concluded Rodrigo Lobo. For more information, visit https://www.exponaval.cl/