IDEX and NAVDEX to kick start tomorrow

The 15th edition of International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) and the Naval Defence and Maritime Security Exhibition (NAVDEX) are all set to start on Sunday (Feb 21) in Abu Dhabi. The conference is themed 'The Prosperity and Development of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technology and the Protection in the Era of the 4IR'.

The two events will be amongst one of the first non-virtual global defense conferences during the pandemic and are organized by the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company, or ADNEC, in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence and the General Command of the UAE Armed Forces.

The five-day event (Feb 21-25) will bring together more than 2,000 global defence leaders and industry experts from 80 countries from across the world, physically and virtually.

The events will witness the participation of five states for the first time - Azerbaijan, Israel, Luxemburg, Portugal and North Macedonia. International exhibitors accounts to 84 percent of all participants while national exhibitors accounts to 16 percent.

The four main sessions of the conference include discussions on protection of AI and other Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies from misuse as its first session, while the second session focuses on supply chain interruptions in the defence sector. The third and the fourth session will explore research and development in the defence sector and analyze defence sector decisions upon cybersecurity challenges.

The exhibitions are platforms to latest technologies and innovation in the global defence sector and aims at building new relationships between major international companies and enhance the growth of UAE's defence industry.

Earlier, the organizers had confirmed the Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre's approval for the exemption of the 10-day quarantine for all badge holders upon their arrival into Abu Dhabi.