Egypt celebrates EDEX 2021 with the important presence of the Emirates
Egypt has inaugurated the 2nd edition of the Egypt International Defence and Security Exhibition (EDEX 2021), which will end on 2 December after several days in which the country's objective is to open new horizons of cooperation between the North African nation and other countries. Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, the Egyptian president, opened the exhibition at the Cairo Exhibition Centre. The event will be attended by more than 400 international companies specialising in defence matters, representing 42 countries, including France, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and others.
During the opening ceremony, Al-Sisi said words that showed the nation's pride in being able to engage in cooperation with other territories. "The attendance is huge and reflects our organisational capacity, as well as the size and strength of the participating companies," commented the president.
At the exhibition, participating countries were able to showcase the latest technologies developed in defence and armaments. Mohamed Ahmed Zaki, Egypt's Minister of Defence and Military Production, was one of the most visible faces of this campaign and welcomed the participating nations to welcome the most important pioneers in the defence systems industry worldwide. This exhibition is dedicated to opening new horizons of cooperation between Egypt and the countries that wish to do so, and EDEX has already become a means for any territory to strengthen ties with others. It is also worth noting that during the ceremony there will be an exhibition of new Egyptian weapons, organised by the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Military Production, the Arab Industrialisation Organisation, the Arab International Optronics Company, the Egyptian Naval Arsenal, the Marine Industries and Services Organisation, the National Service Projects Organisation and the Vehicle Engineering Industrial Complex.
In addition, more than 40 ministers of defence or of military commands and military production from around the world have been able to enjoy the exhibition, which, to date, is the largest event to be held in the whole of Africa. One of them is Mohamed bin Ahmed al-Bowardi, UAE Minister of State for Defence Affairs, who has hinted that relations between the UAE and Africa are on good terms. Al-Bowardi toured much of the exhibition and stopped in front of the UAE Pavilion, which showcases the latest Emirati military technology products.
He also met with Zaki and Mohamed Ahmed Morsy, Major General and Minister of State for Military Production, and Nikolaos Chardalias, Deputy Minister of National Defence of Greece. According to sources, they were heard discussing how to improve the defence and military cooperation of the three countries, which are in a good military relationship.
The UAE has strengthened its military positions with countries such as Egypt, Greece and Cyprus, and the aim of this cooperation is to keep Turkey isolated. A few weeks ago, armed forces units from the four nations came together to begin joint exercises known as 'Medusa 11' in the Mediterranean. Tensions between the UAE and Turkey have been tense for the past decade after the Turkish leader accused the Gulf state of provoking the 2016 coup that attempted to overthrow him. While these claims remain, efforts are being made to seek a normalisation between the countries' relations with Turkey and to try to get Erdogan to limit his influence in Middle Eastern countries.
