UKTI DSO attends LIMA arms fair in Malaysia
This week the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (Lima 2009) arms fair is held in Malaysia. It is the 10th anniversary of the biennial arms fair and focuses on aerospace and maritime manufacturers. Its target is the Asian Pacific region.
UKTI DSO has booked a large exhibition space at the arms fair. Its presence is further strengthened by the British Minister for Defence Equipment and Support Quentin Davies. He mentioned to reporters that "The Malaysia-UK relations is one we value greatly and during LIMA, we will be focusing on how we can work closely together, particularly in the defence and security areas".
Malaysia is one of UKTI DSO's key market countries. This means that some of UKTI's staff in Malaysia spends all or most of their time supporting defence and security export business.
Next to many other big arms companies like SAAB, MBDA, Thales and EADS, BAE Systems has an especially large presence at the arms fair. The arms company is very interested in strengthening their ties to the Malaysian government to sell their deadly products.
Meanwhile the former prime minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, talked to the media about his concern about a looming arms race in the region. He urged ASEAN countries not to enhance their military capabilities. He observed that many countries in the region spend more and more money on buying arms, even if they could spend it much more wisely. He also acknowledged that buying arms doesn't make any sense whatsoever, unless the countries plan to engage in a new war, which would be devastating for the region.
If you wonder what other arms fairs UKTI DSO has visited during the last months and where they are heading next, have a look at CAAT's arms fair calendar.
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