International
A landmark
achievement
Thomas Gaunt, managing director – Clarion
Events Middle East, on the EN Award-winning
launch of the Egypt Defence Expo
How did the idea for Egypt
Defence Expo (EDEX)
come about?
Launching EDEX was a
collaborative effort that took
a few years in the making.
We gradually developed
a relationship with the
stakeholders who attended
Clarion’s other events in the
region and wished to replicate
the success of our other shows
in Egypt. EDEX was a new
launch event idealised as
an opportunity for Egypt to
demonstrate their capabilities
and also offer Egyptian
companies a platform to
showcase their equipment and
services to an international
audience.
14 — May
What were the reasons for
choosing Egypt?
With over 1.3 million military
personnel, Egypt is the largest
military power in Africa and one
of the leading forces worldwide.
These impressive statistics
made it the ideal host for a
defence & security exhibition,
in addition to the fact that
the geographic location of the
country lends itself to business
in both Africa and Middle East.
What was the partnership
like between Clarion
and the Egyptian Armed
Forces?
The show was held under the
patronage of His Excellency,
President Abdel Fattah El
Sisi, The President of The
“EDEX was
the largest
launch in
the 72-year
history of
Clarion
Events”
Arab Republic of Egypt and
The Supreme Commander of
the Egyptian Armed Forces.
This official support allowed
the Egyptian Armed Forces
to work closely with us in
identifying the technology they
wished to see, identifying their
priorities with regards to the
VIP delegation programme
and gaining support from their
senior military leadership.
The level of government
engagement also meant that the
media coverage was huge. This
was an important event not
only for the industry but for the
country.
What was the process of
preparing the show for
launch?