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Świętokrzyskie Economic Compass at Targi Kielce. Representatives of the government, local governments, business and science discuss the development directions
The Starachowice Special Economic Zone, Kielce Industrial Park and the Industrial Development Agency organised the event. Approximately 200 people are participating, including representatives from various sectors of the economy, such as the arms industry, local government officials, politicians, scientists, government representatives, and business support institutions. The topics discussed included cooperation between business, local government and the defence industry, the vision of the economic development of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, and the role of science and technology in the development of a modern defence industry.
Representatives from various economic institutions across the country took the floor during the forum. One of the key panels – “Security and development – the power of cooperation between business, local government and the arms industry”, the development of companies, the creation of areas for investment, and increasing defense spending were discussed by Agata Binkowska, President of the Special Economic Zone “Starachowice” SA, Grzegorz Orawiec, Director of the Department of Innovation and Development Support Programs at the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy, Łukasz Kotapski, Vice President of the Industrial Development Agency SA, Piotr Waluszewski, Director of the Kielce branch of Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, Arkadiusz Bąk, Member of the Management Board and Director of Operations at Polish Armaments GroupSA, Daniel Szypuła, Director of Production Developmentat MESKO SA.
President of Targi Kielce, Doctor Andrzej Mochoń, emphasised the importance of the International Defence Industry Exhibition MSPO not only for the development of the arms industry over the past 32 years, but also for the development of Kielce and the region. The head of the Kielce Exhibition and Congress Centre recalled that when the first editions of MSPO were organised in 1992 and 1993, Poland had post-Soviet equipment. Polish industry produced weapons under a Russian license. - At the same time, the entire political class was moving towards the European Union and NATO; the then president of MESKO said "hold arms expo, because we need such a show," recalled Doctor Andrzej Mochoń.
As he emphasised, MSPO has been the third defence industry fair in Europe, after Paris and London, for over 10 years. What significance for the region? - According to analyses, one job position at the plant generates four jobs with subcontractors. In our case, this indicator is significantly higher, with 15 or 20 jobs. If Targi Kielce employs 200 people, then roughly the same number works in two or three hotels in Kielce. During the MSPO, our exhibitors and visitors occupy 27 hotels in Kielce, and also rent rooms in guesthouses, motels, use restaurants, taxis, printing companies, and expo stand developers, among other service providers. Expo participants also use hotels in Świętokrzyskie, Radom, and even Kraków. As Arkadiusz Bąk rightly noted, there is already a shortage of hotel rooms in Kielce for the duration of MSPO There are rooms available in facilities in Busko-Zdrój, but from an international perspective, Busko is still Kielce, it is still close, explained Doctor Andrzej Mochoń.