Their Highnesses Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed open IDEX 2017

WAM -- Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, today opened the thirteenth edition of the International Defence Exhibition and Conference, IDEX 2017, the Middle East's leading arms and defence technology sales exhibition.

The exhibition is being held under the patronage of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.

The fourth edition of the Naval Exhibition and Defence Conference, Navdex 2017, the naval defence and maritime security section of IDEX, is being held alongside this year's event.

125 defence companies are taking part in the exhibition, including 99 naval defence companies from 27 different countries.

The biggest participation is from local companies, which show a 17 percent increase from 2015, according to Staff Major-General Pilot Faris Al Mazrouei, Chairman of the Higher Committee organising IDEX and Navdex.

The largest exhibitor is the Emirates Defence Industries Company, EDIC, a joint venture between Mubadala Development and Tawazun Holding.

A total of 1,235 companies are taking part, a 3 percent increase from 2015, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and Rostec. More than 100,000 visitors are expected to attend over the course of the event.

The previous edition of IDEX, in 2015, attracted more than 100,000 visitors and 1,200 companies, with more than AED18.3bn of deals signed during the event.

WAM/Aamir/Esraa/Moran