As three days of captivating displays by some of the most sophisticated tools and equipment for internal State security came to a close, the 10th edition of Milipol Qatar easily surpassed all achievements from its previous editions with the value of business deals closed and the numbers of visitors and exhibitors having registered massive growth rates.
After the third and final day of the show, Wednesday, 22 October 2014, the total value of business contracts of the Ministry of Interior generated by the event reached QR 309 million. This represented an increase of 22 per cent from the 2012 figure of QR 252 million. In addition, some QR 20 million more of business transactions are expected to be finalised in the coming weeks.
Also, the number of visitors at the 10th staging of the biennial event exceeded its previous edition by 13%. With 6,583 visitors from 63 countries and 30 nations officially represented by 146 delegations, the show likewise generated strong interest from 217 media representatives, who all covered the event.
Furthermore, the event’s 261 exhibitors from 36 countries, which included new country entrants such as Belgium, Cyprus, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic and Taiwan, registered an increase of 7% from that of 2012. Six international pavilions composed of Brazil, France, Germany/Austria, North America, the United Kingdom, and Italy, all contributed to the 12 % increase in total floor area of built booths at 6,055 m² as compared with the 5,403 m² in 2012.
“As expected, Milipol Qatar once again proved to be a huge success!” said Muriel Kafantaris, Exhibition Director – Milipol Qatar 2014. “Highlighted by state-of-the-art technologies and innovations from the foremost and pioneering global providers of state-of-the-art products and services, the show certainly drew focused attention from visitors and visiting delegations, which then resulted in huge amounts of business agreements.
“The increased number of participating countries and exhibitors from Qatar, the region and around the globe, plus the brisk business activities that happened throughout the event, clearly indicated that the region’s only biennial event dedicated to internal State security has lived up to its reputation as the most reliable platform and source of cutting edge solutions for an increasingly sophisticated internal State security scenario,” she added.
Organised by the Ministry of Interior of the State of Qatar and Comexposium Security from Paris, the event was held under the auspices of His Highness the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, on 20-22 October 2014 at the Doha Exhibition Centre in Qatar.
The exhibition was inaugurated on Monday, 20 October, by His Excellency the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior of Qatar Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Thani. Among the other high ranking and distinguished officials from other countries who also graced the opening ceremony were His Excellency Sayyid Hamoud bin Faisal al-Busaidi, the Minister of Interior of Oman; Colonel General Kamaladdin Heydarov, the Azerbaijani Minister for Emergency Situations; and Bernard Cazeneuve, the French Interior Minister. Also present were His Excellency Jassem Bin Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti Minister of Transport of Qatar; His Excellency Staff Maj. Gen. Saad bin Jassim al Khulaifi, Director General of Public Security; His Excellency Ghanim bin Shaheen Al-Ghanim, Chief of Staff of the Qatari Armed Forces Major General (Pilot); as well as other senior security officials from neighbouring countries.
After the inauguration ceremony, Sheikh Abdullah emphasised that the continued success of the show is a result of the cooperation between Qatar’s Ministry of Interior and France. He also praised the strong participation from global companies who offered their latest technology in the field of internal security.
Right on the first day of the three-day event, host country Qatar immediately reached four prominent agreements with France and Azerbaijan. This included a letter of intent between Qatar and France signed by DGPS Staff Maj. Gen. Saad bin Jassim al Khulafi and the Director General of the French National Police in the presence of the Qatari Prime Minister His Excellency Sheikh Abdullah and the French Interior Minister Mr. Cazeneuve. The letter of intent pertained to training, cooperation, mutual understanding and the exchange of information in the field of security between the State of Qatar and the French Republic.
The three other cooperation agreements signed by Qatar were composed of a cooperation agreement between the Internal Security Force (Lekhwiya) and the French Gendarmerie, a cooperation agreement in the field of security with Azerbaijan, and a cooperation agreement between Lekhwiya and the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan.
Among the new exhibitors at the show were ADS GROUP, BAE Systems and Rockwell Collins from the UK; Alfardan Automobiles – BMW, Complete Source One, International Gulf Trading Company – Chubb Fire, Qatar Fuel (WOQOD), and Qatar Railways Company from host Qatar; Al-Boury For Weapons from Kuwait; Axis Communications from the UAE; CZ from the Czech Republic; ERCOM from France; FNSS from Turkey, Forjas Taurus from Brazil; Mehler Law Enforcement from Germany; Raytheon from the U.S.A.; and Yamaha Motors from Japan.
The show’s Main Official Sponsor was Adbullah Abdulghani & Bros. Co., while the event’s Diamond Sponsor was Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana Co.
Platinum Sponsor was Qatar Petroleum and Multi Services Co. (MSC), while the Golden Sponsor was Nexter Systems. In addition, the event’s Official Sponsors included Qatar Fuel (WOQOD), Qatar Diar, Hemaya Security Services Co., Qatar Tourism Authority and Salam Technology. Furthermore, Milaha (Qatar Navigation) was the event’s Official Shipper and Qatar Airways was the event’s Official Carrier.
Since its creation in 1996, the event had established itself as the main platform in the region for internal security requirements due to the professionalism and quality of exhibitors and visitors. It also provided access to security markets in the entire region and enabled key international industry players to meet in a fast-developing environment with medium- to long-term economic and strategic projects.