Over 70 international Official & Military delegations expected at IDEX 2005

IDEX 2005 will be held in Abu Dhabi, UAE, between 12-17 February 2005, under the Patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

'IDEX (International Defence Exhibition & Conference) provides an opening to the high-potential MENA (Middle East North Africa) region, which is one of the biggest markets for defence equipment in the world. Over 60 delegations visited the previous edition of IDEX in 2003 and millions of dollars worth of business deals were signed. We expect over 70 official delegations at IDEX 2005 this year, given the prominence that IDEX has come to occupy in the calendar of events for the worldwide defence industry' said Mr. Ahmad Al Mazrouie, Acting Director General, General Exhibitions Corporation.

To facilitate the meetings between exhibitors and delegation members, the organisers have arranged for designated officers to be assigned to each delegation. A liaison officer in each of the halls will be the point of contact for exhibitors, along with a hostess who will co-ordinate meetings between the delegation officer, liaison officer and the protocol department of GHQ, for the exhibitor.

The IDEX organisers have also announced a string of incentives aimed at boosting the 'live' demonstrations segment of IDEX that has always been a popular feature at the event. All exhibitors will get an opportunity for a FREE, live demonstration slot for a few minutes, during the event. A 'borrow-back' policy is also being offered to exhibitors whose equipment is stationed in the region. The live demonstrations include tracked and wheeled vehicles, over the 100,000 square metres purpose built arena, as well as the demonstration of smaller amphibious naval craft at the marina adjacent to the exhibition site. In addition, live firing during the day and night will take place at the nearby Maqatra Firing Range, which is capable of allowing weapons with ranges up to 25 km, including artillery and missiles. As always, IDEX '05 will also feature its naval berthing at Mina Zayed Port, where there will be an array of naval vessels of various types and missions, which will welcome visitors onboard.

IDEX 2005 has also recorded substantial interest in its RotorCraft pavilion, which has been introduced for the first time as a dedicated pavilion. Leading companies, including Agusta Westland, Boeing, Eurocopter, Sikorsky, RDM Schweizer, MIL, Kazan, Kamov, Rosvertol, KAI and Meggitt Defence Systems have all expressed interest in taking part. The RotorCraft pavilion will enable exhibitors to display actual hardware of different maritime, army and police helicopters and will be supported by the UAE Air Force & Air Defence, Navy and the Special Operations Group.

As part of its ongoing promotional tour, IDEX 2005 recently exhibited at Eurosatory, Paris-Nord Villepinte, 14 -18 June 2004, as well as at the Farnborough Air Show, UK, 19-25 July 2004. The IDEX participation at Eurosatory included a high profile reception hosted for the defence community, which was attended by top executives from major defence companies such as, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, MBDA and Thales to name a few. The Russian Military's Deputy Chief of Staff, as well as Turkey's Minister of Defence visited the IDEX stand during Eurosatory.

The IDEX participation at Eurosatory resulted in several new exhibitor sign-on's including, Saab - Sweden, KBP - Russia, OTO MELARA - Italy, MAN Trucks - Germany, Pronal - France, Meggitt Defence Systems - UK, Stewart & Stevenson - USA, Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) - UAE and Atlas Communications - UAE.

The IDEX 2005 team is also participating in Africa Aerospace being held 21-25 September 2004 in Pretoria, South Africa and expects to evoke substantial interest from prospective exhibitors, visitors and media. With more than 5 months to go for the event, IDEX 2005 has already reached confirmed bookings of 92% of the space available to date.