The Minister of National Defence Mr. Panos Panagiotopoulos attended the opening ceremony of the International Defence Exhibition “IDEX 2013” at Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
On the sidelines of the grand opening ceremony of “IDEX 2013”, the Minister of National Defence met with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
During their meeting, which took place at a very amiable and cordial environment, the two men discussed issues pertaining to the relations between Greece and the UAE at the level of defence cooperation, issues concerning investments in the field of defence armaments, but also broader issues pertaining to the relations between Greece and the UAE and the general developments in the Middle East and the South-Eastern Mediterranean, as well as the planning of the Prime Minister’s Mr. Antonis Samaras visit to the UAE.
After their meeting, Mr. Panagiotopoulos made the following statement:
“Greece, despite the difficult financial circumstance it experiences, is a country with very powerful Armed Forces and this is respected and appreciated by many countries in the broader region we belong to.
At the same time Greece, with the efforts it makes to re-enter the course of recovery, is today a centre of interest for cooperation with friendly countries, such as the Emirates, in the field of economy, but also in the field of defence and military cooperation.
That was the message I obtained here from our meeting with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, but also from the rest of the meetings on the sidelines of the official opening ceremony of the international defence and military materiel exhibition “IDEX 2013”.
The government here is waiting for the Prime Minister’s Mr. Antonis Samaras official visit and believes that we can proceed -as we have already began- our cooperation in the field of economy, investments, defence, mutual military exercises, training of senior officers of the Emirates in Hellenic Military Academies etc.
We are ready to set the foundations, we are doing it already and we proceed towards this close -for both sides, as we believe- fruitful cooperation”.
On the sidelines of the opening of “IDEX 2013”, Mr. Panagiotopoulos met with:
- The French Defence Minister Mr. Jean-Yves Le Drian, who will pay an official visit to Athens, invited by Mr. Panagiotopoulos, on February 28th
- The British Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology Mr. Philip Dunne
- The U.S. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State at the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs Mr. Thomas Kelly
- The Delegate to the Minister of National Defence of Algeria Mr. Abdelmalek Guenaïzia
- The Minister of Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina Mr. Zekerijah Osmic.
During his stay at Abu Dhabi, Mr. Panagiotopoulos also had a friendly meeting and discussion with the former Prime Minister of Great Britain Mr. Gordon Brown.
Moreover, Mr. Panagiotopoulos visited all Greek (state and private) exhibiting stands and was meticulously briefed on their participation at IDEX 2013 and their activity in the broader region.
