Australia’s Minister for Defense Materiel yesterday signed a Deed to enter Finmeccanica into the Australian Government Global Supply Chain program.

At the Land Warfare Conference in Melbourne, Australia, the Hon. Jason Clare signed a Deed, which is an important step in the strategy to increase an enduring Finmeccanica presence in Australia.

This growth was discussed in April by Finmeccanica CEO and Chairman Giuseppe Orsi, during his meetings with Australia’s Prime Minister and the Minister for Defense Materiel.

The Australian Global Supply Chain Program is restricted to large multinational prime contractors with an ability to help Australian companies access more opportunities through their supply chain.

The Finmeccanica Global Supply Chain Deed sets the legal, reporting and overarching obligations on Finmeccanica under this Australian government-funded program that with the support of the operating companies, will enable development of the specific milestones and actions to identify potential opportunities for Australian companies to compete internationally.

“The Global Supply Chain Deed with Australia is well suited to the broad range of exceptional technological capabilities of Finmeccanica and I know the company sees this as mutually very beneficial” said Riccardo Napolitano, general manager of Finmeccanica Group Services S.p.A, who signed the deed. “Finmeccanica Operating Companies have recently been awarded contracts or are engaged in the solicitation process, across almost all of our sectors. Engaging with Australian small and medium businesses that have a range of quality products and services is important to success of the projects in the demanding Australian environment.”