- President El-Sisi inaugurates the show
By Sangeeta Saxena
Cairo, Egypt. 04 December 2023. With the ceasefire between the Hamas & Israeli’s called off , the third edition of the Egypt Defence Expo (EDEX) was inaugurated by Egypt’s President and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.
The exhibition is taking place from 4-7 December at the Egypt International Exhibition Centre in Cairo. It features 22 pavilions showcasing the latest in land, sea, and air military technology from over 400 exhibiting companies from 46 countries. It is expected to attract 35,000 visitors, including high-level military delegations from over 100 countries. The event is organized by Arabian Word Events in cooperation with Egypt’s Ministry of Defence and Military Production, and the Arab Organization for Industrialization.
The Egyptian pavilion features the cutting-edge present and future capabilities of the defence ministry. The exhibition has the participation of international pavilions from Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Czech, France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, South Korea, Ukraine, UAE, and US. On display are products covering such sectors as shipbuilding, cyber security, missile systems, unmanned and autonomous systems, parachuting and airdrop, satellite communication, search and rescue, surveillance systems, tactical equipment, training and simulation equipment, and more.
Al-Sisi also inaugurated the Egyptian frigate “Al-Jabbar” via video conference, on the sidelines of the exhibition. He inspected the exhibition pavilions, which showcased a variety of technical and tactical specifications, in line with the different requirements of the Armed Forces. Speaking at the inauguration of EDEX, Commander of the Egyptian Navy Rear Admiral Ashraf Atwa said the new frigate launching comes as part of directives of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to give special attention to the manufacturing of naval units inside the Egyptian Navy Arsenal. Three frigates have already been finalized in cooperation with the French side, Atwa said. Also, 11 coastal patrol craft vessels were finished, he said, adding that this success is today being resumed with the launching of the Egyptian frigate of “Meko-A200” that has been totally manufactured by Egypt at Alexandria arsenal.
Egypt’s Minister of Defense Mohamed Zaki welcomed on Monday all ‘guests of Egypt’ participating in the third edition of the Egypt Defense Expo (EDEX 2023). In his speech at the inauguration EDEX 2023, Zaki affirmed that Egypt was and still is a ‘meeting point’ for all peace-loving countries in order to unify efforts, contain the pace of conflicts, and formulate a common reality in which everyone enjoys peace and achieve common interests.
He stressed that The Armed Forces will always remain a ‘faithful guardian’ for this country, bearing in mind that ‘whoever possesses the keys to power is the one who is able to make peace.’ Zaki shed light on the harsh international conditions and global events, especially the “extremely dangerous and sensitive curve that the Palestinian issue is witnessing”. He said that the current escalations in Gaza strip aims at ‘Imposing a reality that leads to the liquidating the Palestinian cause.’ Zaki explained that peace eventually must have a ‘power to protect it’.
The official opening took off with the screening of a documentary film entitled (Will and Challenge), an Armed Forces Morale Affairs Department production that portrays the Egyptian Navy’s years-long march of achievements. The film explained that it was mainly through elevating performance rates that the Navy has reached its present diversity of capabilities and richness of specialisations, with a major role by the local and joint military manufacturing in enhancing the Navy’s armament capability. Speaking at the inauguration of EDEX, Commander of the Egyptian Navy Rear Admiral Ashraf Atwa said the new frigate launching comes as part of directives of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to give special attention to the manufacturing of naval units inside the Egyptian Navy Arsenal.
