During the first week of February, a new bilateral meeting between the armed forces of the United Arab Emirates and Spain was held in Zaragoza.
Organized by the Ministries of Defense of the United Arab Emirates and Spain, these bilateral meetings allow the two Armies to follow up on their programs and collaboration plans and to strengthen their cooperation ties.
On this occasion, a group of defense companies from both the United Arab Emirates and Spain were selected to present their capabilities to the delegations of both Ministries of Defense, and to create a forum for knowledge and exchange of experiences between companies from both countries to initiate or consolidate scenarios for future collaborations between the defense industry of both countries.
The delegations from both countries were led by Lieutenant General Ishaq Saleh Albaloushi(Undersecretary Assistance for Defence Industry and Capability Development) and Admiral Santiago Gonzalez Gomez (DiGAM, Director General of Armaments and Material) respectively.
At the opening of the meeting, Colonel Loureiro, Head of the Area of Plans and Bilateral Relations of OFICAEX (General Directorate of International Relations of the DGAM) highlighted the relevance of this type of meetings to strengthen cooperation and collaboration between the Defense Industry of both countries, as well as the commitment of OFICAEX to continue strengthening such cooperation for the mutual benefit of both countries.
The delegation of Emirati companies was led by the Emirates Defence Companies Council (EDCC) and Tawazun Economic Council and included companies such as EDGE, CALIDUS, EARTH, AL HAMRA, etc. . On the Spanish side, some of the main companies of the Spanish Defense Industry were present: AERTEC, ARPA, ESCRIBANO, EVERIS, EXPAL, HISPANO VEMA, INDRA, ITP Aero, NAMMO, NAVANTIA, TECNOBIT, etc.
Left: Colonel Loureiro, Head of the Area of Plans and Bilateral Relations, OFICAEX, DGAM
Right: Rafael Arruga, Director of Business Development, Hispano Vema
In this context, Hispano Vema had the opportunity to present its capabilities in NBC Decontamination Technological Risks systems. During his presentation, the Director of Business Development of Hispano Vema, Mr. Rafael Arruga, reviewed the main challenges in both civil and military fields that the growing threats of incidents or attacks with chemical, biological and radiological agents pose to security and defense departments and agencies. As well as the need for new technologies and NBC decontamination capabilities that the Armed Forces are demanding to have their NBC decontamination capabilities updated.
This has driven the Defense Industry to a continuous process of innovation and development of new NBC decontamination systems that ensure both maximum effectiveness in the decontamination process and minimum response time in any type of scenario and with any type of contaminating agent.
In this context, the state-of-the-art of current NBC decontamination solutions focuses on more efficient systems for the decontamination of people (both valid and ambulatory) and on new technologies for the decontamination of electronic equipment (as part of critical infrastructure protection programs).
Rafael Arruga also stressed the need for modular and flexible decontamination systems that allow maximum standardization of decontamination capabilities (as a key to minimum response time) and scalability and versatility in response capabilities to the wide range of scenarios that a Hazmat incident may present.
The concern of the Armed Forces and Security and Emergency Corps for this aspect has led to the development of increasingly sophisticated, versatile and comprehensive NBC decontamination rapid deployment systems that allow the management of a wide range of Hazmat incidents in a minimum response time.
The organization of the meeting was a resounding success, and the objectives of creating this forum for mutual understanding between the Armed Forces and the Defense Industry of the United Arab Emirates and Spain were fully met.
The participation of the selected Spanish companies is another sign “…of the firm international vocation of the Spanish Defense Industry” as highlighted by General Luis Lopez, Head of OFICAEX. He also encouraged the companies from both countries to look for synergies and collaboration opportunities to face the challenges of a global and increasingly competitive market that demands the creation of value through innovation and the development of new technologies.
