Czech - Irish Defence and Security Forum in Dublin

The "Czech - Irish Defence and Security Forum" was held on 24 October 2023 in the premises of the prestigious Dublin private Stephens’s Green Club. The event was in the form of moderated thematic panel discussions. The event was opened with short speeches by CDA, a.i. Filip Vurm, Deputy Chief Director of the Industrial Cooperation Section of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic, Michal Rendla, President of DSIA Jiří Hynek, and on behalf of the Department of Defence of Ireland, Director of the Department of Research, Technology and Innovation and Irish National Focal Point for EDF Philip Mudge. This was followed by the first discussion panel on chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear protection and detection (CBRN and Detection), in which the representative of EGO Zlín (manufacturer of a complex system of biological protection, decontamination systems and emergency medicine) M. Bařinková and representative of Grant Detection (manufacturer of detectors of living organisms in vehicles - patented technology of the University of Hradec Králové) M. Vodrážka, participated on behalf of the Czech side. The Irish side was represented in this panel by Professor Lokesh Joshi from the University of Galway and also a representative of Aquila Bioscience, which has developed a unique decontamination technology.

The second discussion panel was on the topic of land defence, which was saw representatives of the Czech defence industry: Š. Černý from SVOS (manufacturer of armored vehicles) and P. Berners from Česká zbrojovka (manufacturer of small arms). The Army of the Czech Republic was represented by the assistant attaché of defence at the Embassy of the Czech Republic in London WO A. Feistinger. The Irish corporate sector was represented by B. Foley from Timoney Technologies (a manufacturer of mobility systems for heavy vehicles in the civil and military field), a company which is interested in establishing a partnership with Czech companies.

The third thematic panel focused on the issue of the air domain. Among Czech companies, a representative of ERA a.s. L. Konvalina participated in this part of the program (radar manufacturer), V. Kozel from Aero Vodochody (subsonic aircraft manufacturer), A. Kovács from CSG Aerospace (a division of the Czechoslovak Group umbrella companies operating in the aviation industry) and M. Polčák from Vrgineers (development of flight simulators). The Irish side was represented by N. Campion from VRAI, which belongs to the chairman of IDSA P.

At the end of the forum, a ceremony was held to sign a memorandum of understanding between DSIA and IDSA. President Jiří Hynek signed the document on behalf of the Czech association and chairman Pat O'Connor on behalf of the Irish association. This is the very first MoU that IDSA has signed with a foreign partner. After the formal part of the event, there was opportunity for networking between representatives of the Czech companies and members of the Irish private sector, the Irish armed forces, state institutions and security forces.