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Abu Dhabi, UAE - Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, the Abu Dhabi International Offset Conference (ADIOC) begins today. ADIOC is organized by the Tawazun Economic Council and is being attended by the global defense industry, government officials and sector experts.
The biennial event, which will be hosted this year at the Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal under the theme “Enticing opportunities: The Role of Industrial Partnerships in a shifting economic landscape”, is organized with the support of a plethora of UAE defense organizations. It brings together representatives of global defense contractors, governments and industry experts from several countries to discuss the latest trends in the offset and counter-trade industry, share their partnership experiences and discuss the growing role of offset in a rapidly developing economy.
In its 6th chapter this year, the event represents an important opportunity to exchange expert views and share best practices in offset’s core principles such as economic diversification, foreign direct investments, technology transfer, fair trade, and joint co-operation between countries.
His Excellency Mohamed Ahmed Al Bowardi, the UAE Minister of State for Defense Affairs, gave a keynote speech at the opening session of ADIOC. He said, “Thanks to the unlimited support of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the UAE’s President, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Supreme Commander of UAE Armed Forces, the UAE has achieved remarkable economic milestones in recent years. Our wise Leadership believes in the great role played by the economy in fueling the development march over 45 years, with the defense manufacturing being the key driver of the economy.”
“The military manufacturing sector of the Ministry of Defense plays an integral role in supporting defense systems and the UAE Armed Forces whilst streamlining the UAE’s economic diversification plans. The sector enjoys a prominent part in shaping defense policies and military manufacturing strategies for local industrial companies, supplying Armed Forces with their equipment needs, technologies, human sources, education and training, as well as with the state-of-the-art local and global defense systems and machines. This is achieved via expanding defense industry networks, boosting competitiveness amongst local companies, and motivating local companies to focus more on innovations to be able to provide cutting-edge military systems and equipment,” His Excellency added.
Highlighting progress achieved by the UAE in recent years, His Excellency Al Bowardi stressed that the country is capable of being part of an integrated system for industrial development, expanding the defense manufacturing base in accordance with meticulously prepared strategies, studies and resources with an aim to build an international collaboration network, with the UAE being the global emerging hub for multiple industries.
Tawazun Chief Executive Officer, H.E. Saif Mohamed al Hajeri welcomed all the delegates, experts and attendees to the event. In his speech he noted that “Manufacturing is a vital source of innovation, a significant contributor to research and development, and a key driver of both global trade and productivity growth”. He went on to state that, “globalization of supply chains, changing geopolitical dynamics, technological innovation and the increase of advanced manufacturing capabilities among emerging economies all help to drive the modern era of industrialization”. His Excellency also noted that “developing a manufacturing capabilities portfolio would contribute to transforming UAE into a globally recognized center of manufacturing excellence”.
Matar Ali Al Romaithi, Chief Officer of the Industrial Development Unit at Tawazun Economic Council, said in a statement marking the start of ADIOC 2017 that “since our last meeting in 2015, there has been aggressive movement towards achieving our objectives and realizing our mandate. We are positive that whatever new resolutions will come out of this years’ meeting will only solidify these objectives for the UAE and the international defense community. It is also an opportunity for us to display and highlight certain Tawazun Economic Program success stories during the meeting, as we are optimistic about the future cooperation between the UAE and other countries to continue setting up integrated projects to create more job opportunities and contribute towards diversification of UAE industries.”
ADIOC brings critical strategic topics up for discussion, such as methods of establishing new projects that create a link between international defense companies and the UAE’s private sector. It represents the ideal platform for the promotion of investments that are available in the domestic market that contribute directly to building national capacity.
ADIOC is sponsored by the Ministry of Defense and is organized by Tawazun Economic Council.
About Tawazun Economic Council
The Tawazun Economic Council was founded in 1992 to fulfil a vision of comprehensive and sustainable economic and social development within the UAE. The Council is responsible for the Tawazun Economic Program, formerly known as the UAE Offset Program, which was established to diversify the UAE’s economy and create new ventures in various sectors through partnerships with international defense contractors.
To date, the Program has resulted in the creation of several joint ventures in various economic and industrial sectors, including ship building, district cooling, aircraft leasing, fish farming, healthcare, agriculture, banking and education.
For more information, please contact:
Saif Ali Al Marzooqi
Associate Director, Marketing
salmarzooqi@tawazun.ae
© Press Release 2017
