A meeting was held today at the Ministry of National Defense led by the Minister of National Defense, Nikos Dendias and the Minister of Digital Governance, Dimitris Papastergiou, regarding the cooperation of the Ministries of National Defense and Digital Governance in matters of satellite communications of the Armed Forces.

The meeting was attended by the Deputy Minister of National Defense, Yiannis Kefalogiannis, the Deputy Minister of Digital Governance, Konstantinos Kyranakis, the head of the National Security Agency, General Dimitrios Houpis, the Secretary General of the Ministry of National Defense, Antonios Oikonomou, the Secretary General of Telecommunications and Posts, Konstantinos Karantzalos, the Prime Minister’s National Security Advisor , Thanos Dokos, the managing director of ELKAK, Pantelis Tzortzakis and relevant officers of the Armed Forces.

Following the meeting which was held on July 3, 2024 at the Ministry of National Defense, the issue of the acquisition and operation of the National Satellite and its utilization by the Armed Forces, as well as the cooperation of the Ministry of Digital Governance with the Hellenic Center for Defense Technology (ELKAK) were discussed.

THE Minister of National Defence stated during his introductory speech:

“Dear colleague, Minister, General, thank you very much for visiting the Ministry of National Defense today. What is remarkable, and due to your own great efforts, is the tightening of the ties of the Ministry of National Defense, that is, in fact, the Armed Forces of our Country, with the Ministry of Digital Government. That this need has arisen, that this need has been met under our close cooperation, shows exactly how the Armed Forces, the whole country – but I speak on behalf of the Armed Forces together with Chief GEETHA who is on my left – we are moving into a new era in which new digital technologies are a necessary element to be able to implement the doctrine of deterrence. We have a lot to discuss. We have to discuss the issue of the communication satellite of the Armed Forces, which for us is a necessary condition for their modernization, the issue of microsatellites, the issue of installations in already existing structures of the Armed Forces of your Ministry. Which also leads to a further tightening of relations, the participation in joint exercises abroad, dual use, and is extremely important. So I would like to thank you again warmly for your presence here, for the cooperation, which I look forward to. I expect, that is, when we leave – because we all leave one day – to leave behind us another reality, another digital reality both in the Armed Forces and in the country. Many thanks again».

From the side of Minister of Digital GovernanceDimitris Papastergiou, said:

“Our cooperation with the Ministry of National Defense and the Minister, Nikos Dendias, is progressing at an exceptional pace. It is impressive that Greece is now at the center of the space ecosystem. Both the projects that are implemented today, as well as the interest of large companies that produce space technology, put our country at the center of developments. We are deepening our fields of cooperation through the National Microsatellite Program, which includes a satellite leg, as well as the ground leg with a hub for gathering and processing data, while the consultation on the new telecommunications satellite also went very well. The world is changing, conditions are changing with the goal of peace and security of countries. In this context, we strengthen and expand our cooperation even more. As the Ministry of Digital Governance, it is a pleasure and an honor to be on the side of the armed forces».