During his official visit to Egypt last week, Major General Dr. Mubarak Saeed bin Ghafan Al Jabri, Assistant Under-Secretary for Support and Defence Industries at the UAE Ministry of Defence, met with Major General Kamal Wafaa Radwan, Head of the Armament Authority of the Egyptian Ministry of Defence.
The two sides discussed new opportunities for strengthening the overall relations between the UAE and Egypt, most notably in defence industries and promoting partnerships between Emirati and Egyptian defence companies, UAE national news agency WAM reported.
The two sides further stressed their keenness to exchange relevant expertise and talked about mutual cooperation in defence industries, as well as the resolutions, legislations and mechanisms for facilitating business among defence industry companies from both countries and integrating their research and development.
Major General Al Jabri also met with Major General Mokhtar Abdel Latif, Head of the Arab Organisation for Industrialisation, and invited him to the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) 2023 and the Naval Defence Exhibition and Conference (NAVDEX) 2023, in Abu Dhabi.
The Emirati delegation visited the organisation’s exhibition and was briefed about Egypt’s plans to encourage local industrialisation, utilise Egyptian technologies, and promote the concept of “Made in Egypt.”
The meeting also addressed the future of defence industries in the two countries, especially regarding entrepreneurship, advanced technologies, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, training citizen cadres, strategic partnerships with major international producers, and supporting research and development.
Major General Al Jabri lauded the vision of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of Egypt, and their support for the efforts to develop the defence industries of their countries and achieve economic diversification.
In another development, Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Bowardi, UAE Minister of State for Defence Affairs, received last week at his office in the Ministry of Defence Sean Murphy, Chargé d’Affaires of the United States Embassy in Abu Dhabi.
The meeting was attended by Mattar Salem Ali Al Dhaheri, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, and a number of senior officials of the Ministry.
At the beginning of the meeting, Al Bowardi welcomed Murphy, highlighting the depth of the friendship relations between the UAE and the United States in various fields, especially in defence and military.
He also stressed the significance of pushing these relations forward towards broader horizons in order to achieve development and prosperity for the two countries.