A two-day conference in Athens was the site of stormy scenes at the end of January. The event featured an unbilled slanging match and a walk-out starring an irate protagonist and an outraged government minister. The conference focused on the Greek MoD’s threats against foreign defence contractors who are experiencing difficulties with their offset commitments. The outcome was positive however, even if the process was ugly.
As the day unfolded it was impossible to avoid a political irony. The Deputy Director General of Rosoboronexport, Viktor M. Komardin, was telling us candidly how Russia’s commercial state-owned arms exporting agency responds to the offset demands of its global consumers. He was far more open, it must be said, than many government agencies are prepared to be in Western Europe.
Peter Scaruppe, Assistant Director, Industry & Market, at the European Defence Agency (EDA), informed conference delegates that the next step to be addressed by the Steering Board will be the abatement issue.
Pakistan is negotiating a bilateral government-to-government barter agreement with the Philippines. Pakistan would supply rice; the Philippines would ship sugar.
As part of worldwide efforts to reduce climate change, the United States is negotiating a debt-for-nature scheme with Indonesia that will help conserve the country’s forests.