Over 1,112 exhibitors from 59 countries showcased their latest technologies and weapons and over 80,000 visitors showed their keen interest in the displayed items. Six defence ministers, 12 chiefs of staff and 15 military leaders attended the show.
The UAE Armed Forces signed 55 contracts worth Dh14 billion, to procure arms and ammunition and service agreements with local companies.
Mohammed bin Zayed tours Idex and Navdex
ABU DHABI – General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces has lauded the support given by the UAE leadership to the initiatives aimed boosting industrial sector and increasing productivity in a way that would contribute to the economic diversification and enhance competitiveness of the UAE-made products.
General Shaikh Mohammed made the remarks as he toured the Idex on Thursday. He said he was pleased that 140 national companies showcased their products during the show. He also praised the capabilities and skills of the Emirati youth who proved themselves in advanced and specialised industries.
“We have come a long way with our pursuit for excellence and innovation. Our youth have great potentials and we are confident that they can take precision and advanced manufacturing capabilities to new levels. We are proud of our national industry making its presence strongly felt under one roof with the leading industrial houses,” he said.
General Sheikh Mohammed said the UAE had developed a clear plan for developing advanced industries “which is bearing fruit today.”
He also expressed appreciation to international companies which entered partnerships with the national companies, leading to the transfer of technology and know-how.
Earlier, General Shaikh Mohammed toured Navdex 2013, the naval and maritime security section of Idex, held on the dock edge at the Adnec Marina.
General Shaikh Mohammed’s tour took him to the pavilions of national and foreign companies taking part in Navdex. Over 80 companies from 15 countries displayed their products, while nine visiting vessels from the United States, Italy, France, the United Kingdom and Pakistan, in addition to UAE naval vessels.
General Shaikh Mohammed also made a stop at the Tawazun stand, under which, 14 Tawazun group companies, including Nimr, TPI, TADS and Burkan, showcased their products.
He was briefed by Tawazun CEO Saif Mohamed Al Hajeri about the company’s plans for attracting Emirati talents and for strengthening partnerships in defence industries and advanced technology.
General Shaikh Mohammed also visited the stand of the Faculty of Science at the UAE University and was briefed about the projects implemented by students there such as a filter for toxic gases and a detector for exploding gases.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant-General Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior toured the pavilions of Idex 2013 on Thursday.
Shaikh Saif was received by the Deputy General Commander of Abu Dhabi Police, Major-General Obaid Al Hairi Salem Al Ketbi and a number of senior police officers.
He visited the pavilion of Mubadala Development Company, where he was briefed on the equipment and helicopters. Shaikh Saif expressed his admiration about the important educational programmes provided by the Aviation Academy to Emiratis.
Shaikh Saif toured the pavilion of Emirates Defence Technology Company and many other pavilions.
He also visited the pavilion of the USA and India, where he was briefed on the military equipment.
He exchanged views with the exhibitors on the Idex 2013, which has attained significant regional and international status.
Shaikh Saif was accompanied during the tour by Brigadier Ali Khalfan Al Dhaheri, Director General Headquarters Affairs of Abu Dhabi Police and a number of senior police officials. —Wam
Abu Dhabi’s Tawazun Holding, which has developed a military industry complex outside the capital city, displayed its might to the overseas visitors.
Forty-companies showcased guns, missiles, ammunition, rocket launchers, heavy military vehicles and other sophisticated weapons.
It was a proud moment for the leadership, which built this capability in less than five years, and has already made the nation self- reliant in several areas of defence productions and creating several business opportunities.
Ammroc signs Dh663m deal
Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Military Maintenance Repair and Overhaul Centre, or Ammroc, has expanded the scope of an agreement it signed with the UAE Armed Forces two years ago to include now repair and overhaul services, in addition to maintenance services, for fixed and rotary aircraft of the Armed Forces.
Ammroc, a joint venture company owned by Mubadala Aerospace, Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation and Lockheed Martin Corporation, announced the new Dh663 million worth deal to expand its services for the UAE Armed Forces to also include overhaul and repair of other platforms such as attack helicopters and fighters.
In November 2011, Ammroc entered into an agreement to provide maintenance services for fixed and rotary aircraft for the General Headquarters (GHQ) of the UAE Armed Forces.
The 2011 renewable agreement was for an initial period of two years, after which time the GHQ anticipates entering into a Performance Based Logistics (PBL) arrangement with Ammroc — a paradigm shift for supplying military aviation Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) services in the UAE — facilitating efficiency improvements in delivering such services.
Colonel Fahed Al Shamesi, chief executive officer of Ammroc termed the deal a “great achievement.” The agreement will make the centre the first supplier of for MRO services to the UAE Air Force as its most important client.
Abu Dhabi Ship Building Company, which has built several military vessels in the last seven years, got a major contract from Kuwait to build their land crafts.
Speaking on the occasion, the spokesman for the UAE Armed Forces Staff Major General Obaid Al Ketbi, said: “The UAE is proud to host Idex, the largest land, air and sea defence exhibition in in the Mena region and one of the most strategically significant defence exhibitions on the world stage.”
“Over the past two decades, Idex has helped participants and exhibitors alike establish valuable strategic partnerships while facilitating knowledge-transfer amongst the world’s leading defence companies, the UAE, and our friends and allies.”
With the conclusion of Idex-2013, the second Naval Defence Exhibition, (Navdex) which doubled in size since its inception with over 80 exhibitors, was also concluded on Thursday.
Reflecting the strategic significance of the exhibition, exhibitors from 2013 have already booked more than 50 per cent of the exhibition area for Idex and Navdex 2015.
While plans for Idex and Navdex 2015 are currently beginning, the next Navdex will include an expanded promenade and a deeper canal, allowing capacity to host larger visiting vessels directly at the exhibition site.
The Gulf Defence Conference held last Saturday, as a two-star-general-plus event, was the highest level conference to be ever held accompanying an international trade show.
