(L-R) Philippe Glaesener, SES; Xavier Bettel, Luxembourg's Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade; Yuriko Backes, Luxembourg's Minister of Defence;
Credit: MAE
On Monday 16 June 2025, Luxembourg's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Xavier Bettel, and Minister of Defence, Yuriko Backes, participated in the 55th edition of the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget.
As reported by Luxembourg's Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, this was Luxembourg's tenth participation in the Paris Air Show.
The ministers visited the Luxembourg pavilion, which this year features 20 exhibitors, notably to attend the official reception and the founding ceremony of the non-profit organisation LuxDefence.
Minister Bettel discussed Luxembourg's commitment to NATO and its obligations to contribute more to defence. He emphasised that these efforts must also have economic benefits for Luxembourg. With this in mind, he explained that Luxembourg's presence at the Paris Air Show was intended to attract businesses to the Grand Duchy and present the country as an investment destination. He also welcomed the creation of LuxDefence Asbl by the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, noting that its creation is in line with Luxembourg's new ambition.
Minister Backes highlighted the efforts made by Luxembourg's defence to strengthen and support the national defence industrial base and the importance of promoting Luxembourg's expertise internationally. She held a bilateral meeting with her counterpart, the French Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu. The ministers discussed the upcoming NATO Summit in The Hague (Netherlands), as well as bilateral defence cooperation, particularly in the context of Luxembourg defence's acquisition of Jaguar and Griffon combat and combat support vehicles from the French Scorpion programme. They also spoke about the exploration of possible cooperation in the field of integrated air and missile defence, as well as in space.
At the show, Minister Bettel and Minister Backes visited various industrial exhibitors active in the defence, aeronautics and space sectors, including KNDS, producer of the Jaguar and Griffon vehicles.
On Monday evening, during the "Women in Leadership" event, Minister Backes delivered a speech on the conditions necessary for peacebuilding and the importance of the "Women, Peace and Security" agenda.
