Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iraq are together expected to spend almost $60 billion on defence in 2009, according to a report.
Notwithstanding the economic downturn, decline in liquidity and drop in oil prices, the Middle East still makes has one of the highest expenditures on defence and security, worldwide, said the report from the organisers of the Intersec trade fair and conference in Dubai.
“The world's escalating surveillance on all facets of security, whether it's related to terrorism, identity frauds or IT threats, has impelled a rise of interest from authorities and end users,” said the report.
Scheduled to be held from January 17-19, 2010 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Intersec is gearing up to showcase the largest congregation of industry leaders and specialist suppliers ever seen in the Gulf region, said Elisabeth Brehl, managing director of Epoc Messe Frankfurt GmbH, organisers of the event.
Driven by the regional concerns and demographics, along with the growing need to safeguard borders and build disaster resilience, it has become extremely important for the GCC to secure and protect not just sensitive businesses such as oil and gas, chemicals, process industries, banking and financial institutions, but to also be aware of the latest technologies to protect their commercial and public assets.
“Saudi Arabia is undoubtedly the largest defence spender in the Middle East. For 2009 the expenditure is estimated at just under $39 billion, the same is expected to increase over $45 billion by 2013. The UAE will account for $7 billion in defence expenditures for 2009, which is a significant amount given its size on the world map. The Middle East by far is one of the fastest growing defence and security markets in the world,” observed Brehl.
“Dealing with Disaster: Readiness, Response and Recovery” will be the key theme for the Intersec 2010 conference. Over the two days of the conference, 15 global and regional experts drawn from homeland and police, security, safety and health, and fire and rescue backgrounds will be sharing their expertise, including the lessons learnt from several disasters and major emergency events, whatever their cause.
The 12th edition of Intersec trade fair and conference in 2010 is projected to be the largest yet, with over 710 exhibitors from 50 countries and over 17,200 trade visitors from 96 countries.
