“Give me the weapons and brains of Germany, along with the soldiers of Egypt, and I will completely rule the world.” These were the very words of Adolf Hitler many decades ago. Until this day, the Egyptian military maintains a robust position in the world and has served its country with great valor, dedication, and selflessness over the years. Last year, the Egyptian Armed Forces announced the hosting of its first major international defense exhibition in 2018 called the “Egypt Defence Expo”, or simply the EDEX. After a year of eager anticipation, the time has finally come to witness our country’s first display of air, land, and sea weapon technologies from all over the globe.
The EDEX does not appear to be a one-time or trivial spectacle. On the contrary, Egypt plans to make it the number one event in the Middle East and to host it on a bi-yearly basis. Moreover, the exhibition will “bring together key defense and security players from the region and across the world” and “offer the Egyptian companies a platform to showcase their military hardware and services to other world militaries”. No other African country has held a similar event to date.
So what are some of the details of this major event? Well, first of all, the exhibition is organized by Clarion Defence and Security, a British company, in cooperation with the Egyptian Armed Forces. Secondly, the EDEX will be held at the Egypt International Exhibition Center, which is considered the largest international exhibition center in Egypt covering an area of 311,000 square meters. Finally, over 300 international defence and security manufacturers are expected to take part as exhibitors, and over 10,000 visitors throughout the duration of the event.