Newsnomics AJAY ANGELINA reporter | South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop attends the UAE International Defense Exhibition (IDEX) 2023 held in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the 20, February and shares opinions with UAE defense officials provided by the Department of Defense with President Yoon
Seok-yeol's state visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last month, expectations for defense exports to the
UAE are ripening.
It is noteworthy whether domestic defense companies will come to the largest defense exhibition in the
Middle East and realize a special event fromthe Middle East again following Saudi Arabia last year.
IDEX is an official publicity window where you can showcase your products to military officials around the
world. One of the largest international defense industry exhibitions in the Middle East and Africa, attended byhigh-level defense officials from around the world and 1,350 companies from 65 countries.
More than 30 South Korean companies have joined this year's event,including Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd., Hanwha Corp. and Hyundai Rotem Coetc.
At the defense industry exhibition WDS 2022 held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in March last year, domestic
defense companies achieved exports worth 1.32 trillion won to Saudi Arabia. The UAE is a country with
deepening ties with the Korean defense industry.
In January of last year, LIG Nex1 signed a 4 trillion won contract with the UAE for a medium-range surface-to-air guided weapon called 'Cheongoong-II', and in January of this year, it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with KAI for joint development of a multi-purpose transport aircraft.
Director Park Dong-won of the Korea Defense Industry Promotion Association said, “The UAE is trying to
strengthen its defense industry capabilities through joint production with foreign companies, establishment of joint ventures, and technology transfer, moving away from its reliance on overseas purchases in the past.”
“Through this exhibition, the UAE “We will use it as an opportunity to further solidify cooperation with the
defense industry, and seek cooperation with neighboring countries such as Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Qatar to create a second boom in the Middle East.”
Lee is slated to hold talks with his UAE counterpart on Tuesday and will visit Poland the next day to meet his
Polish counterpart, Mariusz Blaszczak.
