IDEX 2009: UAE defies global economic gloom to announce $5bn in contracts

Resisting any inference that the global economic slowdown was having an impact on its oil-funded balance sheet, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced some AED18.4 billion (USD5 billion) worth of contracts at the ninth IDEX defence exhibition in Abu Dhabi.

An announcement that Finmeccanica subsidiary Alenia Aermacchi's M-346 Master has been chosen by the UAE Air Force and Air Defence for advanced training and close air support will push the total still higher. The cost of the 48 aircraft alone will exceed USD1 billion and any contract is also likely to include training, maintenance and spares.

Addressing persistent questions about the economic crisis, the conference's official spokesman, Major General Obaid al Ketbi, repeatedly insisted that the contracts had "nothing to do" with the slowdown. Instead, he said, the contracts were in line with strategic decisions by the UAE armed forces and showed that the economy was "very, very strong, especially in Abu Dhabi".

While the bulk of the orders were negotiated months or even years in advance of the five-day show at the cavernous Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, which closed on 26 February, the contracts - announced with a panoply of local, regional and international contractors - helped ease concerns of a slump in the industry. 207 of 1,261 words