Minister of Defence Lubomír Metnar took part in the 14th edition of the IDEX 2019 International Defence Exhibition & Conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The Minister then visited Bangalore, India, to attend Aero India 2019.
Minister Metnar’s business trip seeks to support the Czech defence industry in international markets. Fifteen Czech companies exhibited their products and services at IDEX 2019, a strategically important defence exhibition enjoying a global reach and showcasing technologies for air, land, naval and marine forces across various defence and security sectors.
UAE an important partner
„The United Arab Emirates is an important partner of ours. A high attendance of Czech firms and the existing cooperative ties with partners in the UAE have proven that our industries and businesses rightly boast an excellent reputation and high quality of their portfolios,” Minister Metnar underscored.
Czech technologies and products also received the Minister’s support in his talks with the Minister of State for Defence Mohammed Al Bawardi, and the Chief of Staff of the UAE Armed Forces Lieutenant General Hamad Al Rumaithi.
On top of business cooperation, security challenges were on the agenda as well. „We share experience and best practices. Although the missions of our respective armed forces differ, I highly appreciate the exchange of information and an ever-deepening cooperation. I am confident our visit and intensive discussions will further strengthen the capabilities of the Czech Armed Forces as well as those of the Czech defence and security industries,” Minister Metnar noted.
Meeting the leaders
On his business trip, the Defence Minister met with leading officials of multiple partner nations: With his Serbian colleague Defence Minister Alaksandar Vulin, and with Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence and Aerospace Industry Askar Zhumagaliyev, they covered key domains of cooperation. He also met with the defence ministers of Armenia and Afghanistan. Together with his Slovak colleague Minister Peter Gajdoš, they visited the stands where Czech and Slovak companies exhibited.
The Czech delegation maximised the outcomes of the opportunities offered by IDEX 2019 in Abu Dhabi and Minister Metnar was personally instrumental to the development of several key defence relations.
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