First Balkan Shield 2026 Opens in Sarajevo
Sarajevo opened Bosnia and Herzegovina's first defense industry fair today, with Zetra hosting exhibitors from six countries through September 4, as Belgrade holds an established arms export position.
Sarajevo on September 1 opened the first international defense industry fair in the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina, “First Balkan Shield 2026,” which through September 4 brings together weapons and military equipment manufacturers from six countries at the “Juan Antonio Samaranch” Olympic Hall, better known as Zetra. The story is not a distant one for Belgrade: Serbia’s defense industry has spent years building an export position on markets from the Middle East to Africa, and Sarajevo is now stepping into the same field with a fair of this scale for the first time, at a moment when Balkan governments’ defense spending is climbing.
The exhibition space covers more than 7,000 square meters, with exhibitors arriving from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, Slovenia, China, the United States and Egypt. On display are modern military and protective technologies, unmanned systems, cybersecurity solutions, electronics, communications equipment and logistics. The event is organized by Sarajevo’s UNIS Group, led by director Denis Silajdzic, with support from the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Ministry of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The opening was attended by Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Prime Minister Nermin Niksic, Federal Minister of Energy, Mining and Industry Vedran Lakic, Bosnia and Herzegovina Foreign Minister Elmedin Konakovic, Bosnia and Herzegovina Defense Minister Zukan Helez, Chair of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Borjana Kristo, and member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency Denis Becirovic. After the ceremonial part, officials and journalists were taken on a tour of the exhibition space, where reporters had the chance to speak with representatives of domestic and foreign exhibitors.
What Helez said ahead of the opening
A few days before the fair, Defense Minister Zukan Helez met with ambassadors and members of the Association of Military Diplomatic Representatives accredited in Bosnia and Herzegovina and called on them to encourage companies from their countries to take part.
“The defense industry in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been experiencing something of a renaissance lately, with record results in exports and production. There is still considerable room for further progress and new business ventures. That is precisely why this fair represents an outstanding opportunity to further strengthen the sector, upgrade production capacities, attract new investment and cement Bosnia and Herzegovina’s position on the international market. I am confident that today’s talks will lay the groundwork for future projects and stronger partnerships, as well as for finding new ways to further modernize the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Helez said.
Minister Lakic said at the same meeting that the fair would be a meeting point for experts, manufacturers and partners, a place to exchange ideas and open up new opportunities for cooperation. “This event will further contribute to positioning our country as an active participant in contemporary industrial and technological trends,” Lakic said, according to the Bosnia and Herzegovina Ministry of Defense.
A new market on ground Serbia already exports to
According to the organizers, the fair’s goal is to promote the production capacity of the domestic industry and open new markets for Bosnian and Herzegovinian arms and equipment manufacturers. That puts Sarajevo directly on the track Serbia’s defense industry, built on the tradition of systems like Zastava, Krusik and Jugoimport SDPR, has been following for years, with exports measured in hundreds of millions of euros annually. The presence of exhibitors from China, Turkey and the United States at the Sarajevo fair also shows that the region is being watched not only by European partners but also by players who traditionally build ties with Belgrade as well.
There is also a symbolic signal for the region: Bosnia and Herzegovina is organizing an event of this size for the first time at a moment when, backed by the government and the defense ministry, there is open talk of “modernizing the Armed Forces” and of exports as a state priority. Whether the first edition of “First Balkan Shield” will also produce concrete contracts remains to be seen in the days before the fair closes on September 4, when organizers are expected to release the first figures on attendance and signed agreements.
