The President of the Defense Industry Competitiveness Cluster was a panelist at the Space & Defense Festival 2026 in Budapest.

The panel “The Role of Industry Associations in the Development of the V4+ Defence Ecosystem” was held as part of the Space & Defense Festival 2026 in Budapest. At the invitation of the organizers, the Hungarian holding company 4iG Space and Defence Technologies, Goran Basarac, President of the Croatian Defence Industry Competitiveness Cluster, also took part in the panel, presenting the Croatian perspective and the potential of the domestic defence industry in the context of strengthening regional cooperation.

The discussion included representatives of industry associations and clusters from the region, some of which already cooperate with the Croatian Defence Industry Competitiveness Cluster: Ervín Haramia (Slovakia), Dr. Zsolt Veron (Hungary), and Kristýna Helm (Czech Republic).

The discussion covered a range of current topics—from the growing interest of companies of the automotive industry in entering the defence and security sector, as well as the involvement of digital services and other sectors in the defence industry, to the challenges such processes entail, including the need to adapt business models, regulatory frameworks, and market-specific requirements.

Particular emphasis was placed on the increasingly strong regional cooperation among V4+ countries, which is already materializing through joint projects, industrial partnerships, and knowledge exchange—creating the foundations for a more competitive and resilient European defence ecosystem. Croatia’s participation and the recognition of HKKOI at events of this kind further confirm its active and increasingly significant role in international defence industry initiatives.