UAE and France will identify areas of potential collaboration across the aerospace and defence sectors to enhance technological capabilities and drive innovation.

 

For this, Edge, the region’s leading advanced technology group for defence and beyond, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The Groupement des Industries Françaises Aéronautiques et Spatiales (Gifas) to establish an environment of collaborative innovation between Edge Group and French aerospace companies.

 

The MoU was signed during a ceremony at the recently-concluded Dubai Airshow 2021 by Reda Nidhakou, Vice President – Strategic Programmes & Corporate Development, Edge, and Bruno du Pradel, Senior Vice President of European & International Affairs, Gifas - in the presence of Hamad Al Marar, President – Missiles & Weapons, Edge and Pierre Bourlot, Director General, Gifas.

 

Nidhakou said: “This agreement is a key step towards more knowledge sharing and technology collaborations between Edge and French-based small and medium enterprises (SMEs). We look forward to working closely with Gifas to drive an innovative future for the defence and aerospace sectors in both our countries.”

 

He added: “We are targeting specific areas of interest, where we aim to explore strategic collaborations and partnerships. This is part of Edge’s drive towards innovation and global SME engagement to support our vision of accelerating innovative product development."

 

Bourlot said: “Considering the ties between France and the UAE at institutional level, the MoU signed by Gifas and Edge aims to foster our industrial cooperation at the level of small and midcap companies by identifying technical areas where our expertise can match with Edge needs. More than 30 of our members are already based in the UAE, showing that internationalisation is playing a key role in our business model which meets the expectations of the UAE in enhancing local capabilities.”-- TradeArabia News Service