BAIA’s participation in the international CANADA–EU SAFE Conference 2026 in Budapest, Hungary, concluded with great success.
BAIA President Todor Ivandjikov took part as a panellist in the discussion “Industry Building Bridges under SAFE”, together with:
- Bernie Derible
- Mike Mueller
- Albert Bíró – модератор на панела
Albert Bíró is Senior Advisor on EU, NATO and International Partnerships at the Defence Industry Association of Hungary.
During the forum, highly productive discussions were held with representatives of international organisations, industry associations and companies from Europe and Canada, laying the foundation for future partnerships, joint initiatives and new international projects.
During the discussions, it was clearly emphasised that close cooperation between European countries and industries is key to Europe’s security, resilience and technological future.
SAFE is emerging as one of the most important strategic initiatives for building a strong European industrial and defence ecosystem through:
- cross-border partnerships;
- development of shared technological capacities;
- industrial coordination;
- innovation and high-tech manufacturing;
- participation of small and medium-sized enterprises in international projects.
The topics that attracted particular interest during the meetings were related to:
- aviation and the drone industry;
- dual-use технологии;
- the low-altitude economy;
- industrial connectivity between Europe and Canada;
- the development of new defence and aerospace solutions.
For BAIA, such participation represents an important step towards actively positioning Bulgaria within European and international industrial, aviation and technological processes.
BAIA continues to work actively for the development of the aviation industry, the drone ecosystem, international partnerships, innovation and technology, education and workforce training, as well as for the participation of Bulgarian companies in European and global initiatives.
