Abu Dhabi, 10 Feb 05 (WAM) -- Kamal Reis, a Type FFGH, F-247 ClassFrigate from Turkey was the first ship to arrive today at the Mina ZayedPort in Abu Dhabi to participate in the Naval Exhibition at IDEX 2005- the 7th International Defence Exhibition & Conference, which will beheld from 12th - 17th February 2005, under the patronage of PresidentHis Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE.

An official spokesperson at the General Exhibitions Corporation (GEC)said, "We are happy to welcome 'Kamal Reiss' for the Naval Show. The shipis among the 14 naval vessels, from 10 countries that will be participatingat the Naval Show as part of IDEX 2005. Besides Turkey, the other participatingcountries are Australia, France, the US, the UK, the UAE, Germany, India,Italy and Pakistan".

In addition to the naval exhibition at IDEX 2005, marine demonstrationswill also take place at the artificial water channel, opposite the mainexhibition site. The marine demonstrations will see the participationof six state-of-the-art naval vessels from the UAE navy, Abu Dhabi ShipBuilding, Emirates Inflatables, Victory Team and the Russian BMP - 3 InfantryCombat Vehicle.

"IDEX has established itself as one of the most prestigious defence exhibitionsworldwide, and the 2005 edition is the biggest and most comprehensiveedition ever. 905 exhibitors, from 50 countries and 68 country delegationswill take part at IDEX 2005", added the GEC spokesperson.