The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council hosted senior officials from Mubadala Development Company for a workshop with senior-level U.S. 2^nd and 3^rd tier aerospace and defense-sector stakeholders today in Abu Dhabi. The delegates included H.E. Homaid Al Shimmari, Chief Executive Officer, Aerospace and Engineering Services, H.E. Khaled Al Qubaisi, Chief Human Capital Officer, Mubadala Group, and Mr. Cyril Arar, Executive Director, Aerospace and Defense Services. Danny Sebright, President of the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council, framed the purpose of workshop as an opportunity to discuss offset requirements, technology transfer and ITAR regulations, system integration, and manufacturing in the U.A.E.

Mr. Danny Sebright, President of the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council, with H.E. Homaid Al Shimmari, Chief Executive Officer, Aerospace and Engineering Services, H.E. Khaled Al Qubaisi, Chief Human Capital Officer, Mubadala Group, and Mr. Cyril Arar, Executive Director, Aerospace and Defense Services, Mubadala Development Company

H.E. Al Shimmari first provided an in-depth outline of the new leadership changes and roles and responsibilities at Mubadala as a result of the recent merger with IPIC.  These changes and the stand-up of the new company, Mubadala Investment Company, are scheduled to take effect on 1 May 2017.  Please see The National’s article ‘Mubadala Investment Company names new divisions and pushes ahead on $122bn merger’ for press reporting on the future organizational structure of Mubadala Development Company.

H.E. Al Shimmari then outlined the U.A.E.’s overall strategic goals and objectives in the aerospace and defense sectors. He stressed the importance of achieving a new level of integration capability for the U.A.E. in space, air, land, and marine verticals, as well as a focus on building and retaining U.A.E. human capital.  H.E. also provided very practical advice for companies in approaching defense offsets as an opportunity and not an obligation.  Finally, H.E. Al Shimmari underscored the importance of viewing the Emirates through a different lens and setting it apart from other countries in the region, saying that each country in the Gulf has its own unique attributes—U.S. and other foreign audiences should take care in understanding that each country in the region is very different.

Stakeholders were provided an opportunity to ask questions specifically tailored to their individual company’s offerings in the areas of MRO, manufacturing, and integration, as well as how to prevent overlap in creating new defense offsets projects.

Following the highly substantive meeting, Mr. Sebright gave a special thanks to H.E. Al Shimmari, H.E. Al Qubaisi, and Mr. Arar, and thanked the guests for their attendance.