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Israel defense firms to showcase at UAE exhibition for first time

Israel Aircraft Industries is the largest of 54 Israeli defense companies to attend prestigious defense show in the United Arab Emirates.

By World Israel News Staff

Israel Aircraft Industries announced Tuesday that it will for the first time be attending the giant IDEX exhibition in Abu Dhabi later this month.

IAI is one of Israel’s big three defense companies. It includes Elbit Systems and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems – makers of the Iron Dome system – both of which will also attend the arms fair along with 51 other Israeli firms.

Held every two years, organizers say the IDEX show is one of the leading international arms and defense technology sales exhibitions in the Middle East and North Africa region, “demonstrating latest defense tech across land, sea & air.”

The exhibition will take place from Feb. 21 to Feb. 25 in Abu Dhabi. Despite the pandemic, organizers are expecting over 1,300 exhibitors and more than 105,000 visitors from 142 countries.

The Israeli presence at IDEX comes after Israel and the UAE established diplomatic relations last year under the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords, with each country pushing to advance trade deals.

“Israel Aerospace Industries applauds the agreements signed by the two countries, agreements that open a window for extended cooperation, sharing of knowledge, promoting investment, development and localization of joint technology,” said IAI president and CEO Boaz Levy.

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“IAI sees our activities in the region as an opportunity to promote cooperation within the regional eco-system and is open to promoting defense as well as civilian endeavors on a range of topics, such as space and satellites, air defense and rocketry, intelligence, robotics, UAVs, cyber etc. This exhibition is a harbinger of long-term activity in the UAE and in the region as a whole.”

The company said in a press release that it will exhibit a wide range of products with an emphasis on aerospace systems, civil aviation and mission aircraft.

“Throughout the exhibition IAI will focus on promoting communication and local cooperation with local government agencies, defense forces, local industries and academic initiatives, in order to further expand the company’s activity in the region,” the company added.