Heads of leading aerospace teaching and research facilities as well as CEOs from the world’s leading airlines and aircraft manufacturers will hold strategic level discussions at an upcoming summit in Abu Dhabi.

Hosted by Mubadala Aerospace, in partnership with Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) and Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat), the Global Aerospace Summit will take place from April 16 to 19, 2012.

The summit is an exclusive, invitation only, international forum bringing together international and regional senior executives from across the aerospace, aviation and space sectors for the event that will promote cross industry thought leadership and discuss future growth strategies.

The format combines two days of high level debate-led discussions on aerospace, aviation and space, followed by two days of field trips to aerospace and aviation facilities.

There will also be closed door discussions, a private procurement meeting programme, and a careers development programme targeting vocational and professional development.

“We believe that this inaugural event will continue over time to become a cornerstone meeting for industry leaders within the global calendar,” said Homaid Al Shemmari, executive director of Mubadala Aerospace.

“The decision to create and hold a global aerospace summit in Abu Dhabi demonstrates the growing importance of the Gulf Region to the industry as a whole, but also reflects the need for a dedicated, high level forum focused on the future of the overall aerospace industry.”

“There is already significant interest in the Summit from industry leaders such as Airbus, Boeing, Emirates, Etihad, and The Engine Alliance, which underpins the decision to hold such an important summit in the UAE,” he added.

Arab countries are expected to spend over $100 billion on infrastructure development and $200 billion on the purchase of new aircraft over the next 15 years.

Chief among these are developments in the UAE, which focus on using the region’s central location as a transfer point for passengers traveling between Europe, Asia and Africa.

Along with China and India, the Middle East is one of the top three fastest growing aviation markets.

Scheduled travel is expected to rise 4.6 per cent per year to 2025; global air cargo capacity is expected to triple over the next twenty years compared to 2009 levels, growing at 5.9 per cent annually, and the private plane business maintaining healthy sales in the region.

James E. Bennett, CEO, Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC), said: “The summit provides an opportunity for global players across the entire value chain in the aerospace, aviation, and space industries to discuss the opportunities for the future in terms of growth, globalization, travel demand, and achieving profitability.”

“We greatly look forward to this event, not only as a result of the sharing of experience and expertise, but also the commercial opportunities that it will bring to the industry.”

Jassem Al Zaabi, CEO, Yahsat, said: “The future of the space industry is exciting, both in terms of the rapidly evolving landscape for satellite communications businesses and the role that satellites can play in national economic development. We are in a new era for the commercial space industry and we anticipate high levels of interest in this area of discussion at Global Aerospace Summit 2012.”

“The programme for the Summit has been designed to capture the interest of the key organisations operating across the aerospace, aviation and space sectors,” added Nicholas Webb, director, Streamline Marketing Group, the event organizers.

“As an invitation only event, we believe that the composition of the four day event will have an immediate and positive impact on the industry over the coming years,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service