JERUDONG, Friday 6 Dec 2013 – The fourth Brunei Darussalam International Defence Exhibition (BRIDEX) 2013 ended after attracting leading exhibitors from 29 countries and seeing the attendance of international invited delegates from 33 countries.
Exhibitors in the defence industry took part in the five-day event, which began on Monday, to introduce their latest innovations and technological developments. Under the theme of “Bridging the Capability Gap” the exhibition was organised by the Royal Brunei Technical Services (RBTS) and was fully supported by the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Brunei Armed Forces.
Present as the guest of honour during the closing ceremony and award presentation was Permanent Secretary (Administration and Finance) at the Ministry of Defence Datin Paduka Hjh Suriyah Hj Umar.
Also in attendance were Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces Major General Dato Paduka Seri Hj Aminuddin Ihsan Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri Paduka Hj Abidin; Permanent Secretary (Policy and Development) at the Ministry of Defence Pg Dato Paduka Hj Azmansham Pg Hj Mohamad; and Deputy Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces Datu Pekerma Jaya Brigadier General Dato Seri Pahlawan Mohd Tawih Abdullah.
The ceremony also saw the presentation of five category awards to the outstanding exhibitors. The most Creative Booth Award was won by the FNSS, the most Popular Booth Award went to Armscor, the most Informative Booth Award was given to ST Engineering, the Best International Exhibitor’s Booth Award went to Rocketsan from Turkey, while the Best Local Exhibitor’s Award was won by Soartech Systems.
“We have received many positive comments as well as constructive criticisms on how to further improve in the upcoming BRIDEX,” said Chief Executive Officer of the RBTS Hjh Rosmawati Hj Manaf, adding that it would definitely be included in its postmortem event with its key stakeholder and client the Ministry of Defence.
Speaking to The Brunei Times on the sidelines of the ceremony, Hjh Rosmawati expressed her appreciation to the Ministry of Defence, which successfully invited more trade visitors than before, including 66 international invited delegates from 33 countries. The event also saw the first appearance of the Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawk helicopter, one of 12 new choppers expected to modernise the Royal Brunei Air Force’s fleet.
She said that although the event saw fewer participation by exhibitors, this year’s trade deals increased significantly compared to the previous one in 2011 because of high demand for maritime surveillance, training simulator solutions and combat tactical training solutions from the exhibitors.
She said that the participation at the fourth BRIDEX 2013 was down 20 per cent, which she attributed to the global economic slowdown.
“A lot of exhibitors are now cutting down as they have to be more selective in promoting (the products) in the markets,” she said.
She hoped that BRIDEX 2015 would be even better organised as initial preparations had already begun. “We are planning to promote the next BRIDEX 2015 during the upcoming Singapore Airshow in February 2014,” she said.
“Overall, this year’s event is still a success though we only managed to sell 80 per cent of the total booths,” she added.
