The biennial International Defence Exhibition and Naval Defence Exhibition will take place February 21-25 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. Victor Besa / The National
The biennial International Defence Exhibition and Naval Defence Exhibition will take place February 21-25 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. Victor Besa / The National
The biennial International Defence Exhibition and Naval Defence Exhibition will take place February 21-25 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. Victor Besa / The National
Abu Dhabi will host the International Defence Conference on February 20 next year in a hybrid format, taking place both virtually and at the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s Business Centre.
The conference will bring together thought leaders, policy makers and researchers. It will focus on the impact of innovation on the global defence sector and how the military industry can unlock the benefits of the so called Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The IDC will be organised as part of the biennial International Defence Exhibition (Idex 2021) and the Naval Defence Exhibition (Navdex 2021), which take place from February 21-25 next year at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.
More than 1,300 companies from across the land, air and marine defence sectors are expected to take part in the two exhibitions, according to an earlier report by state news agency Wam.
“Bringing together leading global experts and specialists to discuss the global defence sector is crucial,” said Khalifa Al Kaabi, chairman of the organising committee for the conference.
“The industry is a complex and dynamic one, with a large number of entities working to provide state actors with a range of measures that secure their country’s defences.”
The events will showcase the latest developments in the defence sector and highlight the latest in military technology. The exhibitions facilitate relationships between entities attending the event and major international companies.
The IDC will explore ways of protecting artificial intelligence and other disruptive technologies from misuse by either state or non-state actors, including terrorist and extremist groups. Panellists will focus on how governments, businesses and academics working in the sector, can collaborate to ensure the protection of critical technologies and ensure their benefits are used for wider peacekeeping efforts.
A second session will focus on disruption in the defence supply chain sector, which was experienced during Covid-19. The session will highlight how defence companies can support militaries in meeting their requirements, how defence manufacturing is changing and how supply chains need to maintain pace.
The third session will highlight research and development in the defence sector. Panellists will discuss how the defence R&D sector will focus on future technologies, including AI, and how this research can be used for civilian application.
The final session will discuss how digital technologies have created new cybersecurity challenges and their implications for the defence industry. Delegates will discuss how industry and government players can respond to threats such as third-party manipulation of technology, personal data theft, or weaponising of social media with false or misleading information.
The IDC has “come at [an] opportune moment where the world is focused on technological innovation,” said Matar Ali Al Romaithi, chief economic development officer of Tawazun, the body tasked with developing a home-grown defence industry.
The 2019 Idex and Navdex welcomed 124,400 visitors. The UAE Armed Forced awarded contracts worth Dh20.5bn during the five-day event. Victor Besa / The National
The previous edition of Idex and Navdex in February 2019 welcomed 124,400 visitors. The UAE Armed Forced awarded contracts worth Dh20.5 billion during the five-day event.
International defence companies won 65 per cent of total contracts during the event while local companies won the remainder.
Abu Dhabi launched the Idex in 1993 which is now the biggest defence fair in the region and one of the largest in the world.
Defence spending continues to increase and has thus far been largely insulated from the pandemic's fallout. Total global military expenditure rose 3.6 per cent to $1.917 trillion in 2019, the biggest annual growth in spending in a decade, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Badr Organisation: Seen as the most militarily capable faction in the Hashd. Iraqi Shiite exiles opposed to Saddam Hussein set up the group in Tehran in the early 1980s as the Badr Corps under the supervision of the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The militia exalts Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei but intermittently cooperated with the US military.
Saraya Al Salam (Peace Brigade): Comprised of former members of the officially defunct Mahdi Army, a militia that was commanded by Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr and fought US and Iraqi government and other forces between 2004 and 2008. As part of a political overhaul aimed as casting Mr Al Sadr as a more nationalist and less sectarian figure, the cleric formed Saraya Al Salam in 2014. The group’s relations with Iran has been volatile.
Kataeb Hezbollah: The group, which is fighting on behalf of the Bashar Al Assad government in Syria, traces its origins to attacks on US forces in Iraq in 2004 and adopts a tough stance against Washington, calling the United States “the enemy of humanity”.
Asaeb Ahl Al Haq: An offshoot of the Mahdi Army active in Syria. Asaeb Ahl Al Haq’s leader Qais al Khazali was a student of Mr Al Moqtada’s late father Mohammed Sadeq Al Sadr, a prominent Shiite cleric who was killed during Saddam Hussein’s rule.
Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba: Formed in 2013 to fight alongside Mr Al Assad’s loyalists in Syria before joining the Hashd. The group is seen as among the most ideological and sectarian-driven Hashd militias in Syria and is the major recruiter of foreign fighters to Syria.
Saraya Al Khorasani: The ICRG formed Saraya Al Khorasani in the mid-1990s and the group is seen as the most ideologically attached to Iran among Tehran’s satellites in Iraq.
(Source: The Wilson Centre, the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation)
Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
The UN General Assembly President in quotes:
YEMEN: “The developments we have seen are promising. We really hope that the parties are going to respect the agreed ceasefire. I think that the sense of really having the political will to have a peace process is vital. There is a little bit of hope and the role that the UN has played is very important.”
PALESTINE: “There is no easy fix. We need to find the political will and comply with the resolutions that we have agreed upon.”
OMAN: “It is a very important country in our system. They have a very important role to play in terms of the balance and peace process of that particular part of the world, in that their position is neutral. That is why it is very important to have a dialogue with the Omani authorities.”
REFORM OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL: “This is complicated and it requires time. It is dependent on the effort that members want to put into the process. It is a process that has been going on for 25 years. That process is slow but the issue is huge. I really hope we will see some progress during my tenure.”
Pupils to learn coding and other vocational skills from Grade 6
Exams to test critical thinking and application of knowledge
A new National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance, Assessment, Review and Analysis for Holistic Development) will form the standard for schools
Schools to implement online system to encouraging transparency and accountability
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE) Where: Allianz Arena, Munich Live: BeIN Sports HD Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Sunday, January 20
3pm: Jordan v Vietnam at Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
6pm: Thailand v China at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: Iran v Oman at Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Monday, January 21
3pm: Japan v Saudi Arabia at Sharjah Stadium
6pm: Australia v Uzbekistan at Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: UAE v Kyrgyzstan at Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tuesday, January 22
5pm: South Korea v Bahrain at Rashid Stadium, Dubai
8pm: Qatar v Iraq at Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi
