About IDEX - The International Defense Exhibition Event

An interview with Yasmeen De Piante

This article regards a new topic for INSIDER RELEASE: security and defense events.

In particular, we will address a very specific event which took place in February 2021 in Abu Dhabi. We are talking about the IDEX: The International Defense Exhibition event.

In order to know something specific about the event we had the honor to talk with a young and excellent member of our network: Yasmeen De Piante. Yasmeen is a young and motivated resource working for a company which deals with drone jammers (C-UAS Jammers) and other kinds of military technologies.

The Event: some data

“THE INTERNATIONAL DEFENCE EXHIBITION AND CONFERENCE (IDEX) IS THE MOST STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT TRI-SERVICE DEFENCE EXHIBITION IN THE WORLD”.

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, the IDC 2021, held with the participation of 24 international experts, over 400 on-ground participants, as well as 2,400 participants joining virtually from 80 countries has concluded. The event was organized by ADNEC and Tawazun, the Economic Council in cooperation with the Ministry of Defence and the General Command of the UAE Armed Forces.

1st global event for the defense sector during this delicate phase of global pandemic recovery.
The event hosted over 62,000 visitors.
59 countries with 900 exhibitors
Of these 59, 5 were new (Luxembourg, Azerbaijan, Portugal, North Macedonia and Israel).
The UAE Armed Forces signed contracts worth $1.3 billion.
Exhibition covering 35 thousand square meters.

The IDEX event takes place only every two years and is held in Abu Dhabi but this year was crucial for at least two important reasons: the unprecedented presence of Israel and the COVID safety organization of the event. Yasmeen had the great luck of being sent to the exhibition for her work (she is responsible for the MENA institutional relations) and she accepted to answer few questions about it in an exclusive interview for INSIDER RELEASE. We deeply thank Yasmeen for the important information we can give you readers after her interview.

Yasmeen, could you please tell me something about the general event? How was the exhibition organized and which were the main aspects that attracted your attention?

Well, the event was organized in 4 days and I was there already from he opening ceremony till the last day. During these days the main attention regarded the new technical innovations as far as platforms and vehicles presented by the many military contractor companies that took part in the event. Hundreds of vehicles and weapon systems were the main protagonist of those days even if there is another side of the story to talk about: network and business.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (ruler of UAE) – IDEX

This is something that is very clear to people involved in the national or international defense lobby. Events like IDEX are the perfect opportunity to meet old and new clients, partners or investors. It’s the perfect place to know what your competitors on the market are up to and how they face the same issues your company could face in the near future. IDEX is an unmissable experience you have to live if you work or plan to work in the fields of defense contracting or in the security industry in general.

Would you advice our readers to visit the IDEX during the next edition?

Indeed this is a very interesting event if you are involved in security and defense in general. This is not a small weapon based events. You will not see many guns but for sure there will be something that suits “your needs” even if this is not a civilian exhibition.

I had the opportunity to see with my own eyes some of the most innovative technologies as far as combat planes, tanks, armored vehicles. Some of the most amazing things I’ve seen were displayed by one of the main IDEX partners: EDGE.

Even if it may not seem as exciting, what I can assure you is that IDEX also gives you the opportunity to see very different people in the same place. Not only the participants come from all over the world but most of them also represent the elite of a certain component of their own society, both on the civilian and on the military side. These are two incredible reasons to take part to the event if you have the opportunity, the 2023 edition is already planned!

What do you think is the main highlight of this event? What makes IDEX unique and why?

This year, everybody at IDEX had one name permanently on their mouth: the special guest, Israel was in the sights of every participant from each national delegation. The unprecedented presence of this nation was a totally new element to IDEX and it was amazing to see directly some examples of realpolitik between representatives of armies that were traditionally perceived as enemies (before the Abraham Accords).

I graduated in international relations and despite the fact I’m currently working in the defense sector I am actually learning a lot about negotiation and lobbying through this very special job with CPM Silent Signals.

In conclusion, I can state that IDEX was a very important event not only on the military innovation side but also at a human level. It was also a great example of security management and organization due to the critical and uncertain period during which it was held. Vision and Organization beat any adversity, this is the best lesson you can learn from UAE at IDEX.

Andrea Silvestri

for Insider Release

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