Egypt able to market arms in Africa, Arab states: MP

CAIRO – 3 December 2018: MP Medhat al-Sherif said that Arab countries should be keen on the joint Arab industrialization of weapons in order to produce advanced weapons eventually.

In an interview on Monday, Sherif who had served as a military intelligence officer in the Egyptian army for over 25 years, pointed to Egypt's ability to market arms in the African continent and the Arab countries.

Sherif referred that marketing arms in Africa is currently carried out through intermediaries, while Egypt can market arms directly and legitimately. He explained that Egypt adopts advanced technologies, and is able to develop modern weapons, which has been clear in the recent war on terrorism.

The Parliament member said that weapons industry is one of the most prominent commercial activities in the world, adding that the countries producing weapons achieve huge profits.

President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi sponsored "EDEX-2018", the first International Defense and Security Industry Exhibition in North and Central Africa. The exhibition kicked off Dec. 3 with the participation of 41 countries and 376 companies and is scheduled to last for three days.

The inauguration was attended by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly; Mohamed Zaki, the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces; and the minister of defense and military production as well as many other officials.

A total of 10 defense ministries from the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Sudan, France, Greece, Cyprus, South Sudan, Cameroon, Somalia and South Korea attended the exhibition.

Organized by the Egyptian Ministry of Defense and Military Production, "EDEX-2018" will attract more than 10,000 visitors interested in the field of armaments and defense industries.

The exhibition hosts 373 international companies from 41 countries, including 42 US companies, 37 French companies, 28 Chinese companies and 13 Russian companies.

Additionally, seven main arms departments from the United States, China, Russia, France, Germany, Italy and UAE will participate in the exhibition and several military authorities will give educational lectures on the sidelines of the exhibition.

As for the Egyptian pavilion in the exhibition, Egyptian military products, including arms and equipment jointly manufactured by the Armed Forces, the National Organization for Military Production (NOMP), and the Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI) will be included in the exhibition.

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Additional reporting by MENA