DSA Proves Malaysia's Defence Industry Potential Amidst Global Economic Uncertainty

By Mohd Razman Abdullah KUALA LUMPUR, April 22 (Bernama) -- With 24 deals worth US$742.91 million (RM2.9 billion) signed and 1,200 exhibitors participating at the 15th Defence Services Asia (DSA) Exhibition and Conference, the security and defence industry has proven to be unshaken amidst the global economic uncertainty. (US$1=RM3.90) "I can honestly say that the DSA has the best installation yet, despite the global economic challenges," Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said in his closing remarks. Even the United Kingdom's Minister of State for Defence Procurement, Philip Dunne believes Malaysia will also benefit from the flourishing industry. He said Malaysia would potentially create more high impact jobs as British prime contractors were offering global products, while businesses were growing very fast. "Because of the strength of the Malaysian education system, schools and universities were well equipped to produce graduates who can undertake more high impact jobs in the future," he told Bernama recently. Malaysia is not the only country to gain from such an event, but so are other countries with new industry players, making heir debut at DSA 2016. Among them were Belarus, Bosnia, Canada, Netherlands, the Russian Federation, United Arab Emirates and Ukraine. Hishammuddin said this showed confidence among the new players of the market potential. In addition to being a great platform for businesses, DSA 2016 also held several high impact conferences and activities. Among the highlights were the Chief of Army Roundtable Talks, Cyber Security Forum, Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Explosive Conference, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Conference and the Putrajaya Forum. DSA is Asia's biggest defence show, and has gathered industry players from across 60 countries, as well as trade visitors from 77 countries. It is now a premier platform for industry players to promote products, exchange ideas and technologies, forge partnerships and embark on strategic and synergistic collaborations. -- BERNAMA