• Home
• /
• Aviation

UAE-Italy defence ties ‘perfect match’

DUBAI - The relations between the UAE and Italy are tight and friendly, and find a “perfect match” in increasingly strong and well-structured ties in the field of military cooperation, according to Italian Minister of Defence Ignazio La Russa.

The bilateral memorandum of understanding between the two nations regarding the cooperation in the defence field provides the proper institutional frame to engage in a wide range of opportunities, which will produce mutual and long-lasting benefits to the two countries, as well as to implement new technical agreements between both defence ministries.La Russa added that there are many important initiatives already started at both the military and industrial levels, with many following soon.

“The presence of the Italian Government at the Dubai Airshow 2011, that I represent here, has also and above all the purpose to speed up act with the UAE authorities,” he said.

In consideration to the importance of the Italian attributions to the UAE and to their key role in the Gulf area, the Dubai Airshow has become a traditional date in the Italian defence agenda. The onstant attendance by Italian companies is proof of interest that the Italian government and their defense industry demonstrate for this event, as well as the attendance of high representatives from the Italian Ministry of Defence.

Moreover, the participation of 13 of the most prestigious national companies involved in the defence field, whose impressive marks are very well known worldwide, is a clear sign of the high interest Italy bestows for the Dubai Airshow and their willingness to offer Italy’s most advanced technologies and industrial capabilities.

“Italy is a country that has invested and keeps investing a lot in maintaining high standards of innovation, quality and performance in those fields where we recognised for our global excellence. Defence is one of these fields, as testified by the presence of Italian world-class industrial players in nearly all the technological areas, from space to aeronautics, from electronic warfare to sensors, from command and control to missile systems. These leaders are flanked by the value added coming from a qualified supply chain, which has in the entrepreneurial dynamism and creativity... a distinguishing mark of the ‘Made in Italy’ brand,” La Russa said.

He said Italy is more and more involved with its industries in programmes and consortia where the excellence of its defence industries gains a key role. “The potential of cooperation with all these actors is huge. Italy has a well-structured defence industry, capable of providing state-of-the-art technical solutions to the most various and complex defence needs. In addition, Italy is also committed world-wide to provide its armed forces for operations aimed at supporting the global security. This has enabled us to mature a large on-field operational experience that we can and we wish to share with our partners in order to contribute to their security and, as far as the industrial dimension is concerned, to their technological enhancement.”

ahmedjamal@khaleejtimes.com