US embassy cable - 03ABUDHABI3021

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 003021 
 
SIPDIS 
 
USDOC FOR 3131/USFCS/OIO/ANESA/RD/BORR/STAUHIDI 
USDOC FOR 3320/USFCS/EPS/TFC/DHUBER/WCORFITZEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ABUD, BMGT, AFIN, BEXP, TC 
SUBJECT: END OF SHOW REPORT FOR CERTIFIED TRADE FAIR: 
INTERNATIONAL DEFENSE EXHIBITION & CONFERENCE (IDEX) 
2003, ABU DHABI, UAE, MARCH 16-20, 2003.  EVENT ID 3D2F 
 
 
1. SUMMARY: 
 
THE USA PAVILION AT THE SIXTH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL 
DEFENSE EXHIBITION AND CONFERENCE (IDEX), MARCH 16-20, 
2003, WAS DOC CERTIFIED AND WAS ORGANIZED BY THE 
ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY (AUSA).  TWENTY 
SEVEN AMERICAN COMPANIES, INCLUDING 5 NEW TO MARKET, 
WERE LOCATED IN THE U.S. PAVILION IN ADDITION TO 45 
OTHER AMERICAN COMPANIES ADJACENT TO THE PAVILION OR CO- 
EXHIBITING AT THE SHOW.  PARTICIPANTS REPORTED OVER 
1,000 SALES LEADS AND PROJECTED SEVERAL MILLION DOLLARS 
IN SALES OVER THE NEXT 12 MONTHS BASED ON CONTACTS MADE 
AT THE SHOW.  IDEX 2003 FEATURED 850 EXHIBITORS FROM 45 
COUNTRIES, 32 NATIONAL PAVILIONS, 58 OFFICIAL 
DELEGATIONS, AND ATTRACTED A REPORTED 35,0000 VISITORS. 
CS ABU DHABI TOGETHER WITH THE AMERICAN BUSINESS GROUP 
(ABG) ORGANIZED AN EXHIBITOR'S BREAKFAST BRIEFING AND 
STAFFED A BUSINESS INFORMATION OFFICE (BIO) AT THE USA 
PAVILION.  CS UAE PROVIDED BUSINESS COUNSELING AND 
MARKET INFORMATION TO EXHIBITORS AND BUSINESS VISITORS. 
AMBASSADOR MARCELLE WAHBA HOSTED A RECEPTION FOR THE 
U.S. EXHIBITORS AND LOCAL DIGNITARIES.  THE ENTIRE 
EMBASSY SUPPORTED THIS EVENT AND CS UAE RECOMMENDS 
CERTIFICATION FOR IDEX 2005, AS THE RESULTS MORE THAN 
JUSTIFY THE CONSIDERABLE EFFORT EXPENDED.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
2. OPENING AND ATTENDANCE: 
 
SHAYKH KHALIFA BIN ZAYED AL-NAHYAN, CROWN PRINCE OF ABU 
DHABI AND DEPUTY SUPREME COMMANDER OF THE UAE ARMED 
FORCES, INAUGURATED IDEX 2003.  VISITORS TO THE U.S. 
PAVILION INCLUDED SHAYKH MOHAMED BIN RASHED AL MAKTOUM, 
U.A.E MINISTER OF DEFENSE AND CROWN PRINCE OF DUBAI, 
SHAYKH MOHAMMED BIN ZAYED, CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE U.A.E 
ARMED FORCES, AND KING ABDULLAH OF JORDAN.  OTHER 
ATTENDEES INCLUDED HEADS OF DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS IN THE 
U.A.E, MILITARY ATTACHES, DIRECTORS OF ALL THE 
DIVISIONS OF THE U.A.E ARMED FORCES, AND HIGH LEVEL 
MILITARY DELEGATIONS FROM SAUDI ARABIA, SUDAN, EGYPT, 
JORDAN, SYRIA, BAHRAIN, QATAR, OMAN, AND OTHER 
COUNTRIES IN THE REGION. 
 
3. EMBASSY AND CS ORGANIZED EVENTS: 
 
ON THE OPENING DAY, OVER 150 U.S. AND U.A.E. BUSINESS 
PEOPLE ATTENDED A BREAKFAST BRIEFING ORGANIZED BY ABG 
AND CS ABU DHABI.  THE AMBASSADOR WELCOMED THE 
ATTENDEES AND SPOKE ABOUT THE CURRENT SITUATION IN THE 
REGION AND U.S-U.A.E POLITICAL AND ECONOMICAL TIES. 
DURING THE COURSE OF THE EXHIBITION, MAJOR GENERAL JOE 
G. TAYLOR, JR., COMMANDING GENERAL, U.S. ARMY SECURITY 
ASSISTANCE COMMAND, AND MAJOR GENERAL MARK CURRAN, 
COMMANDING GENERAL, U.S. AVIATION CENTER AT FORT 
RUCKER, TOURED THE EXHIBITION AND CONDUCTED SEMINAR 
PRESENTATIONS AT THE USA PAVILION. 
 
AMBASSADOR WAHBA HOSTED A RECEPTION FOR THE U.S. 
EXHIBITORS THAT WAS ATTENDED BY OVER 250 U.A.E. 
DIGNITARIES AND REPRESENTATIVES OF U.S. COMPANIES. 
 
4. USA PAVILION: 
 
THE MAJORITY OF THE U.S. PRESENCE WAS IN EXHIBITION 
HALL 4 OF THE ABU DHABI INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION 
CENTER. AMBASSADOR WAHBA AND MG JOE TAYLOR OFFICIALLY 
OPENED THE USA PAVILION.  EMBASSY STAFF LED THE GROUP 
ON A TOUR OF THE PAVILION AND INTRODUCED EXHIBITING 
COMPANIES' REPRESENTATIVES. 
 
THE 27 USA PAVILION EXHIBITORS DISPLAYED AN ARRAY OF 
MILITARY EQUIPMENT, BATTLEFIELD COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, 
RADAR EQUIPMENT, ELECTRONIC WARFARE, NIGHT VISION, O 
AND M SUPPORT SERVICES, MILITARY CLOTHING, PORTABLE 
WATER FILTRATION AND PURIFICATION BOTTLES, AND 
ELECTRONIC SECURITY SYSTEMS, AND OTHER STATE OF THE ART 
TECHNOLOGY. 
 
CS STAFF MANNED THE EMBASSY/CS BUSINESS INFORMATION 
OFFICE (BIO) THROUGHOUT THE SHOW FOR A TOTAL OF 120 
HOURS, WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF ABG STAFF. 
 
CS ABU DHABI ALSO ORGANIZED A PRODUCT LITERATURE CENTER 
(PLC) AT THE BOOTH DISPLAYING CATALOGUES OF US 
MANUFACTURERS OF SHELTERS, MILITARY STRUCTURES, FIBER 
OPTICS SYSTEMS AND OPTICAL CABLES, PNEUMATIC 
TELESCOPING MASTS, SUPPLIERS OF AIRCRAFT PARTS, AND 
PROVIDERS OF MILITARY EDUCATION. OVER 1,000 VISITORS 
STOPPED BY FOR PLC LEADS, CS PRODUCTS AND SERVICES 
INFORMATION, LISTS OF UAE MILITARY CONTACTS, 
INFORMATION ON U.S. PRODUCTS, UAE BUSINESS/LEGAL 
PUBLICATIONS, COUNTRY COMMERCIAL GUIDES, AND FREE 
SAMPLES OF U.S. DONUTS, SNACK FOODS, AND JUICES. 
 
5. MEDIA COVERAGE: 
 
EXHIBITORS WERE DELIGHTED WITH THE EXTENSIVE MEDIA 
COVERAGE THEY RECEIVED, WITH AT LEAST 15-20 PRESS 
ARTICLES ON U.S. PRODUCTS. LOCAL TV AND RADIO FEATURED 
THE UAE DIGNITARIES VISIT TO THE EMBASSY/CS BOOTH. THE 
USA PAVILION AND SEVERAL US COMPANIES WERE ALSO 
FEATURED IN THE DAILY SHOW REPORT PUBLISHED BY JANE'S. 
 
6. VIEWS AND COMMENTS: 
 
DESPITE THE MOUNTING TENSION IN THE REGION BECAUSE OF 
THE IMPENDING IRAQ WAR, MOST OF THE U.S. EXHIBITORS 
WERE PLEASED WITH THE SHOW AND EXPRESSED A DESIRE TO 
PARTICIPATE IN THE NEXT IDEX IN MARCH OF 2005.  IN 
GENERAL, THEY WERE VERY PLEASED WITH THE PAVILION 
ORGANIZATION BY AUSA AND CS STAFF SUPPORT AND 
ASSISTANCE.  FOLLOWING ARE EXCERPTS OF THE EXHIBITOR'S 
COMMENTS TAKEN FROM THE MISSION/EXHIBITION EVALUATION 
FORM: 
 
"EXCELLENT SHOW FOR CONTACTS AND FOLLOW-UP ON SALES 
OPPORTUNITIES" 
FIRE ARMS TRAINING SYSTEMS 
 
"THE US COMMERCIAL SERVICE STAFF EXTENDED THEIR FULL 
SUPPORT TO OUR ACTIVITIES DURING THE SHOW" 
HORTON EMERGENCY VEHICLES 
 
"SHOW ALLOWS DIRECT INTERFACE WITH UAE CUSTOMERS AND 
POTENTIAL MIDDLE EAST CUSTOMERS" 
GOODRICH CORPORATION 
 
"PROVIDED STRATEGIC MARKET CONTACTS AND CUT LEAD TIME 
FOR MARKET ENTRY" 
ATN 
 
THE MAIN COMPLAINT FROM SEVERAL EXHIBITORS WHO HAD 
ATTENDED PREVIOUS IDEXES WAS A DECREASE IN THE NUMBER 
OF HIGH-LEVEL DELEGATIONS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES.  IN 
ADDITION, DEFENSE OBSERVERS NOTED THAT DEFENSE 
EXPENDITURES HAVE PEAKS AND VALLEYS, AND THIS COULD 
HAVE BEEN A "VALLEY" YEAR. 
 
7. RESULTS: 
 
U.S. PAVILION PARTICIPANTS OBTAINED OVER 1,000 SALES 
LEADS DURING THE 5 DAYS AND PROJECTED SEVERAL MILLION 
US DOLLARS IN SALES OVER THE NEXT 12 MONTHS AS A RESULT 
OF SHOW CONTACTS. OVER $70 MILLION IN SALES WERE MADE 
PUBLIC BY LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES EXHIBITING 
AT IDEX 2003 DURING THE EVENT. 
 
8. COMMENTS: 
 
IDEX OFFERS AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY FOR U.S. DEFENSE 
FIRMS TO PURSUE EXPORT SALES AND DEVELOP BUSINESS 
CONTACTS NOT ONLY IN THE UAE BUT ALSO IN OTHER MARKETS 
OF THE REGION. IDEX HAS CARVED A DISTINCTIVE NICHE FOR 
ITSELF AMONG THE WORLD'S TOP DEFENSE EXHIBITIONS.  OVER 
150 PUBLICATIONS AND NEWS ORGANIZATIONS WERE COVERING 
THE SHOW. CS UAE SUPPORTS CONTINUED USDOC CERTIFICATION 
FOR IDEX. THE POTENTIAL RESULTS FOR A VARIETY OF U.S. 
COMPANIES, INCLUDING NTM FIRMS, MAKES THIS WELL WORTH 
THE CONSIDERABLE EFFORT EXPENDED BY CS UAE AND THE 
EMBASSY. 
 
WAHBA