Dubai Airshow is one of most important air shows in the world, Italian Defence Minister

Dubai, Nov 15, 2011 (WAM) - "Italy and UAE enjoy strong and friendly relations and find a perfect match in increasingly vibrant and well-structured ties in the field of military cooperation", said Ignazio La Russa, the Italian Minister of Defence to the Show Daily of Dubai Air Show 2011. The bilateral MoU 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 the two MoD. He added that there are many important initiatives, already started in both at military and industrial level, and many other will follows soon. "The presence of the Italian Government at the UAE 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 Air Show has become a traditional date in the Italian defence agenda. The wide and qualified constant attendance by several Italian companies is the tangible proof of interest that the Italian government and their defence industry demonstrate for this event, as well as the attendance of high representatives from the Italian MoD. 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 2011 and their willingness to offer Italy's most advanced technologies and industrial capabilities. La Russa mentioned, "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 of the small-medium enterprises a distinguishing mark of the (Made in Italy)." Additionally he said, Italy, in adherence with the new transactional defence concept, is more and more involved with its industries in multinational programmes and consortia where the excellence of its defence industries gains a key role in every single program. La Russa said, "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." He said that the Gulf and Arab countries are considered a key area of interest for the Italian market, to build up and strengthen partnerships also in the sphere of defence programmes and their development. On the basis of the mutual collaboration and trust, the bilateral relationships are foreseen to constantly increase in the future, especially in the specific fields of air forces, electronics, radar and naval control. - Emirates News Agency, WAM