This year’s Dubai Airshow kicks off at the newly
opened Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central on November
17th.
The new venue for the Dubai Airshow 2013 is
centrally located between Dubai and neighbouring Abu Dhabi, and is a sprawling
testament to the country’s national goal of achieving economic diversification
and integration across a wide array of sectors. In line with this visionary
effort driven by the country’s leadership, hosting the conference at the new
airport will showcase the UAE’s commitment to act as a platform for new
business, trade, and investment opportunities in the global defence, security,
and commercial aerospace industries.
To that end, corporate and government officials
from around the world will flock to this year’s Dubai Airshow for one critical
reason: Dubai, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is rapidly becoming a nerve
centre for global commerce and a crossroads for international travel between
East and West, and North and South.
Further, Dubai Airshow 2013 promises to be the key
global showcase for displaying cutting-edge aerospace and defence technology.
Any American company that wishes to expand their engagement with international
customers should attend and exhibit their products as the Airshow promises
ample opportunities for partnership and growth.
From America’s perspective, the emirates of Dubai
and Abu Dhabi have long been integral in supporting the US security and defence
framework for the broader Middle East North Africa region. The UAE has been a
key partner to America in the maintenance and security of critical
international trade and energy routes since the country’s establishment just
four short decades ago. The UAE is home to Jebel Ali Port in Dubai, the largest
US Navy port-of-call outside the United States, and hosts a sizable and
qualitative US Air Force contingent based at Al Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi.
Today, Emirati military forces train and
interoperate side by side with US and other coalition forces on security and
humanitarian assistance missions across the broader region, from Afghanistan to
Libya.
Now, with a record $22.5 billion in US exports to
the UAE in 2012 and with 2013’s exports on track for another record-breaking
year, a second – and equally notable – cornerstone in the relationship has been
cemented. The UAE is the largest market
for US exports in the wider Middle East North Africa region – from Algeria to
Pakistan.
Further, the importance of the bilateral trade and
commercial relationship cannot be understated as business with the UAE, and
foreign direct investment by the Emirates into the US, are directly responsible
for creating and sustaining hundreds of thousands of high quality American
jobs.
For its part, the Dubai Airshow provides an
international platform for the UAE to highlight its progress in developing
state-of-the-art physical and digital infrastructure to support the country’s
ambitions to serve as a vital link in the global supply chain. The show also
directly supports federal efforts to open the UAE’s corporate climate to
accommodate increased foreign investment from the US and other global partners,
and boost domestic human capital to meet future economic and security
challenges.
The exhibition also provides a global venue for the
UAE to highlight its progress in developing its own capabilities in the defence
and aerospace arena. Companies like Strata Manufacturing, Mubadala Aerospace,
AMMROC, Emirates Advanced Investments, International Golden Group, and others
will display their achievements, highlighting the UAE’s capability to become
self-sufficient in Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) work at home and to
meaningfully link up with the global supply chain abroad.
From a commercial stand point, the show is expected
to generate sales that could total over $75 billion in new airplanes, engines,
and support equipment for the key regional airlines. These include Dubai’s
Emirates Airline and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways. Boeing, General Electric, and
Pratt & Whitney will likely be the largest US recipients of these deals.
Finally, the show has been an important opportunity
to mark the sale of sensitive military technology and this year will be no
exception. A number of newsworthy announcements are expected with Lockheed
Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and other U.S. companies set to make
headlines. Recent reports of the proposed sale of over $10 billion in new US
equipment to the UAE and to Saudi Arabia will likely book-end a large number of
aerospace and defence business announcements during the show.
With sales and attendance numbers at this year’s
show expected to be the largest in its reputable history, Dubai Airshow 2013
will undoubtedly serve to help reshape and develop the global defence and
aerospace industry moving forward.
Danny Sebright is the President of the US-UAE Business Council and a Senior Advisor at The Cohen Group in Washington, D.C. He has worked on defence and security matters related to the Middle East under six US secretaries of defence.
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