PRESS RELEASE

7. Official NATO exhibition will be in Nitra this year

Official name: NATO Exhibition Slovakia CCIE (Combat Clothing and Individual Equipment) 2003

Once every three years the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation organises a special exhibition focussing on combat clothing and individual equipment under the direction of special working group in the frame work Conference of National Armaments Directors (CNAD).

As an expression of appreciation for the integration ambitions of the Slovak Republic in the procedure of accession to NATO, last autumn it was decided that this year's exhibition will take place on 16^th - 18^th October 2003 at the exhibition grounds of Agrokomplex in Nitra. By holding the exhibition CCIE in Nitra, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation wishes to contribute to the development of the region and thus demonstrate in practice the benefits of integration for all of Slovakia.

For the first time in its more than twenty-year history, this specialist NATO exhibition is being held in a country which is not yet a member of the alliance.

The exhibition is being covered on behalf of the Slovak Republic by the Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic. Many important representatives of NATO have confirmed their participation. The Defence Investments Division will be represented by Richard Froh (Head of Land Armaments Section) and Guyonne Le Fournis and the NATO Standardisation Agency (NSA) will be represented by Col. G. Martina and Lt. Col. G. Szarka.

The importance and topicality of the exhibition CCIE 2003 Nitra at this time consists of the fact that it offers an exchange of experience and specialist information for manufacturers of special combat clothing and individual equipment in the newly acceding countries, and it also opens up the possibility of reacting to new challenges in the global war on terrorism, where the main role of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is the creation of special rapid reaction forces. Their long-term, safe deployment and use in unfamiliar terrain places new demands on the materials used and the technology of equipment.

This is also one of the reasons why the Brussels HQ of NATO considers the CCIE Nitra exhibition to be one of the priorities in the Slovak Republic at present. The exhibition in Nitra is enjoying the greatest ever interest of specialists from throughout the world. There will be 196 exhibitors from 28 countries. The USA, Canada, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Slovenia, Georgia, Denmark, Norway, Austria, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Great Britain will have presentations on national stands.

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The strategy of the exhibition organisers is also to create conditions in cooperation with the host country in order for all the representatives of armed forces, expert sites, scientific and educational institutions and representatives of towns and municipalities, individual elements of the integrated rescue system and also expert from domestic commercial firms to have free access to the exhibition.

On 18^th October 2003 from 09:00 to 14:00 the exhibition will also be open to the general public for the token entry price of SK 50.

In the outdoor areas, you will certainly be interested in the developed field hospital of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic, JAKUB - original simulator for training military specialists, dynamic displays of the military police, displays of members of the Training Centre of UN Peacekeeping Forces and professionals from the Nitra antiaircraft rocket brigade.

Out of the specialist activities I would like to stress the significance of the accompanying programme NATO Workshop Slovakia, which focuses on support for Slovak manufacturers of special equipment. The organisers are expecting more than a hundred foreign experts from procurement offices of the individual ministries of defence and a similar number of foreign entrepreneurs looking into the possibilities of cooperation with Slovak firms. The main accompanying event will be the international technical conference called The Soldier of the 21^st Century, which as a result of the unexpectedly great interest of speakers from abroad will take place for the period of the entire exhibition. The conference will be organised in the form of discussion panels and lectures in the conference centre of the exhibition.

The most significant specialist part of the NATO Exhibition Slovakia CCIE 2003 is the meeting of the ad hoc international working group of NATO specialists. This specialist discussion on the dates 20^th - 22^nd October 2003 in the chateau in Beladicia will evaluate developments in the field of combat clothing and individual equipment and in the field of the standardisation of these resources in the member countries of the alliance and in the countries which have signed up for the Partnership for Peace programme.

The icing on the cake at the end of the first day of the exhibition, 16^th October 2003, will be the first official NATO Galashow in the Slovak Republic, which the Art seven agency will be directing in the spirit of the army look. The intention is to demonstrate how the army look gets into civilian life and influences young people's style of dress. This new fashion trend can be seen in types of civilian camouflage clothing and accessories reminiscent of military equipment. It therefore comes as no surprise that the world's leading fashion designers such as Galiano, Jean Paul Gaultier and many others use it in their creations.

The organisers of the exhibition CCIE Nitra 2003 have also accommodated the general public, and so the gates of the exhibition ground Agrokomplex will be open on Saturday 18^th October 2003 from 09:00 to 14:00. In addition to the attractive outdoor exhibitions, there will be an untraditional fashion show of the Ministry of Defence and displays of martial arts, and an exhibition of the Bulgarian painter Boyko Asparuhova will also be open. In the programme "... let's go to NATO together" in addition to the representatives of the Nitra garrison, the band Tramp Song, Fornax and long-time favourites of Slovak popular music will also play.