Dubai: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said that Abu Dhabi's International Defence Exhibition (Idex) is gaining prominence and wider acclaim among nations of the world and companies producing weapons and defence equipment as the event provides them with a window to markets in the region. Shaikh Mohammad is opening the exhibition today.
The exhibition also represents a platform for arms manufacturers to showcase their latest products and defence technologies so that they can catch the attention of governments in the region that are looking for weapons, technologies and equipment to enhance defensive capabilities or strengthen their armed forces to defend and protect their territories, independence and national wealth, Shaikh Mohammad added.
The following is the text of the message of Shaikh Mohammad to ring in Idex 2011: "The Idex 2011 in its tenth session will offer new electronic defence devices and sophisticated weapons, which may not have been showcased so far anywhere else in the world. This will allow the countries of the region, the Middle East and North Africa the opportunity to view these modern defence products and procure them through commercial transactions taking place in the exhibition every year.
Focus on trade, technology
"We in the UAE do not look at Idex or Dubai Airshow as two platforms for arms race in the region, as some claim, but see them purely in terms of trade, tourism and technology, because of the diversity in attendance and participation in these events, which have gained international fame and earned great confidence among the exhibitors and consumers. This makes the United Arab Emirates a meeting place for people of different races and a gateway between East and West, not to mention the experience and knowledge which the men of our armed forces and our police gain through mixing with the experts who arrive from all over the world."
Shaikh Mohammad concluded: "We are confident that this year's show will see a large turnout and the increase in the proportion of exhibitors and visitors because it brings with it all that is new in the world of defence industries and military equipment."
