MILIPOL QATAR – the meeting place for homeland security professionals in the Middle East market

The six Arab Gulf states which make up the Gulf Cooperation Council - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates - continue to invest heavily in security and defence products and services. Not only do they share the the needs of other regions in the fight against criminality and terrorism – their consistently impressive rates of economic growth have lead to massive building and infrastructure projects as well as industrial development, all of which have generated specific requirements to ensure security.

Milipol Qatar – the international exhibition of internal state security – first took place in 1996. Based on the highly successful Milipol exhibition in Paris, Milipol Qatar was created to respond to a need for a specialised exhibition that was highly targeted to the needs of the  Middle East market. The show will be celebrating its 7th edition 17-19th November 2008 in Doha.

Over the past 12 years Milipol Qatar has witnessed steady growth, testifying to the need for a targeted local event. It has now become the principal meeting place where suppliers of security products and services come together with buyers and consultant advisors of governments from the Gulf region, the rest of the Middle East, North Africa and Asia. It represents a professional regional shop-window for the latest technological developments in the field of internal state security.

Organised in partnership with the Ministry of Interior of the State of Qatar, the exhibition provides a showcase for products and services for the following sectors:

• police forces
• coastal and border security
• customs
• special forces
• civil defence
• prison services
• critical infrastructure security
• protection of sensitive sites and industrial security

The products and services covered include electronics (IT and communications), mobility (vehicules, boats, drones), arms and ammunition, optics/optronics, fabrics and clothing, forensic science equipement, building and perimeter security, civil defence equipement, bomb and mine disposal equipment, consultancy and training services.

The Minister of Interior of the State of Qatar invites official delegations from the Middle East, North Africa, Asia as well as Europe to attend the event and discover new technologies in this specialist field.

The last edition of Milipol Qatar was in 2006 when the event hosted 256 exhibiting companies from 36 different countries. The exhibitors included large groups such as BAE Systems, Beretta, EADS, Thales, SAGEM, Siemens and Singapore Technologies Electronics as well as a number of small, innovative companies that participated often within the framework of one of 7 national pavillions.
Access to the exhibition is restricted to security professionals. 3714 visitors attended from 69 countries. 170 official delegates were welcomed from the Middle East, Europe, Asia and the USA. 86 journalists from 14 countries covered the exhibition.

The event was inaugurated by His Excellency Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Minister of State for Interior Affairs, State of Qatar,with his guests: Mr. Brice Hortefeux, Minister "Délégué aux Collectivités Territoriales", France, and officials from the Ministries of Interior of Bahrain, Lebanon, Turkey, the UAE.
The preparation for Milipol Qatar 2008 is well underway with the State of Qatar looking for security solutions, for example, in 3 areas linked to the country’s development:

• protection of gas projects as Qatar looks to become the world’s leading supplier of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) by 2010
• the new Doha International Airport that will have a capacity of 12 million passangers per anum
• the multitude of major infrastructure and construction projects planned and already underway – industrial plants, towers, malls and special facilities like The Pearl and Lusail projects.

There is also great governement interest in developing their civil defence and special forces capacities.
Brigadier Nasser Bin Fahed Al-Thani of the Qatar Minister of Interior and Head of the Milipol Qatar Committee comments: “We look forward to welcoming even more companies from around the world to Milipol Qatar in November. With a brand new exhibition centre in Doha, Milipol Qatar will be an ideal meeting place for industrial companies to present their products and for key governement buyers from the Region to discover innovative technologies and products responding to their requirements in the field of security.”