The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council, in partnership with the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Washington D.C., co-hosted a reception Tuesday evening in honor of key representatives from the U.A.E. defense industry visiting on occasion of the 2015 AUSA Annual Meeting & Exposition.  Representatives from Emirati defense firms including Mubadala Aerospace, Tawazun, International Golden Group (IGG), Emirates Defense Technology (EDT), and NIMR Automotive were greeted with applause by public and private sector stakeholders after a brief introduction from the President of the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council Danny Sebright, U.A.E. Embassy Trade and Commercial Counselor Saud Al Nowais, and Mr. Talal Al Kaissi, Chief of Staff & Advisor to the Commercial Counselor.

U.A.E. Embassy Commercial office and U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council host reception at U.A.E. Embassy in Washington, D.C.
in honor of visiting U.A.E. defense industrial delegation for Association of the U.S. Army annual conference.

“The AUSA Annual Meeting & Exposition is a hallmark event for the global defense industry’s key players,” said Danny Sebright, President of the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council.  “As the U.A.E. rises to meet the security needs in its own country and lead the fight against terror in the broader GCC, meetings like AUSA prove critically important as an opportunity for the U.S. and U.A.E. defense establishments to align their priorities and goals in lock step with one another.”

Trade and Commercial Counselor Saud Al Nowais subsequently took to the stage, “Considering the vibrant trade relationship between the U.S. and U.A.E., with a substantial amount of US Exports to the UAE being defense related goods and services, it is was great to see the significant turnout of stakeholders from both sides which demonstrates the level of commitment involved by all in ensuring interoperability, with defense equipment to address the regional challenges and common threats while maintaining our shared values.”

Following Mr. Al Nowais’ brief remarks, invited stakeholders were given an opportunity to discuss defense-related issues and opportunities with the visiting delegation.  Among the topics of discussion was Emirates Defense Industries Company (EDIC) first exhibition at AUSA.  EDIC was established in 2014  from the integrated assets of Mubadala Development Company, Tawazun, and Emirates Advanced Investments, and is the region’s primere integrated national defense service and manufacturing platform.

The U.A.E. defense representatives will attend the closing day of the 2015 AUSA Annual Meeting & Exposition tomorrow before returning to the Emirates.

To find out more information about the AUSA Annual Meeting & Exposition, please see below.

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Held every October in Washington D.C., the AUSA Annual Meeting & Exposition is one of the largest land warfare expositions and professional development forums in the world. The Annual Meeting consists of informative presentations, panel discussions on pertinent military and national security subjects, workshops and important AUSA business meetings. The three day event also includes over 500 industry and military exhibits occupying over 250,000 net square feet of exhibit space. Presentations on the state of the Army and related defense subjects are given by the Secretary of the Army, the Army Chief of Staff and other senior Army and Department of Defense representatives.

Each year over 26,000 attendees, including senior leaders from the Army, DoD and congress, as well as foreign dignitaries participate in the Annual Meeting. The event provides a unique opportunity to showcase defense industry products and services to key Army and DoD decision-makers, discover new developments in defense technology and meet with colleagues from the world-wide defense community.

This year’s AUSA Annual Meeting & Exposition is taking place October 12-14, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC.