U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council hosts dinner on the margins of IDEX

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Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates —The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council hosted a reception and dinner on the margins of the International Defense Exhibition & Conference (IDEX 2011) at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi on Monday, February 21st.  The event brought military authorities, government officials, and defense professionals from the United States and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) together to discuss matters of national defense and security and to share advances in military technology that will serve their bilateral security interests.

Waleed Al Mokarrab Al Muhairi, Chief Operations Officer of Mubadala Development Company and Co-Chairman of the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council, delivered the keynote address.  In his remarks, Mr. Al Muhairi stressed the U.A.E.’s commitment to its strategic defense partnership with the U.S. and to contributing its military efforts to the greater purpose of regional and global security.  He underscored the importance of commercial defense partnerships between American and Emirati companies and the growing capacity of local U.A.E. defense firms.

“U.A.E. commercial defense companies are rapidly developing the maintenance and support capabilities that allow our military and those of our allies to better focus on their core war fighting missions,” said Mr. Al Muhairi. “In fact, no fewer than eight Mubadala subsidiary companies [currently] support the U.A.E. Armed Forces’ drive to focus on its core operations by collectively creating a sustainable, networked, and commercially viable support system.”

Danny Sebright, President of the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council, hosted the event and commended the U.S. and the U.A.E. on the strength of the strategic defense relationship between the two countries.  Mr. Sebright’s welcome remarks highlighted the many defense partnerships that exist between American and Emirati companies and emphasized that there is a great potential for more collaboration.

“The commercial partnerships forged between American and Emirati companies, this week and in the past, are evidence to the vitality of the U.S.-U.A.E. defense relationship,” said Mr. Sebright.  “The United States and the United Arab Emirates share a common resolve to maintain peace and security in the Gulf region and the broader Middle East.”

Notable attendees at the event included Mr. Douglas Greene, U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi, Major General Hank Morrow, U.S. Defense Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi; Ms. Beth McCormick, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Defense Trade and Regional Security; Ms. Laurie Farris, Commercial Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi; Mr. Talal Kaissi, Chief of Staff of the Trade and Commercial office at the U.A.E. Embassy in Washington, D.C.; and Secretary William Cohen, former U.S. Secretary of Defense from 1997 to 2001.