ABU DHABI, 03 March 2022 – Global defense industry and defense communities are undergoing a sustained transition, said H.E. Tareq Abdulraheem Al Hosani, CEO of Tawazun Economic Council (Tawazun), in his speech at the International Defence Industry, Technology and Security Conference held in Abu Dhabi.
“In the last two years, we have seen a notable increase in the number of new capabilities—once thought to be distant prospects—that are being demonstrated at a mature level today. Some have even been deployed in an operational setting.” he said.
Al Hosani noted that as a result “The advancement of a wide range of emerging technologies is changing the ways that militaries think about their force structures and operations.”
As CEO, Al Hosani has overseen a change in mandate for Tawazun to manage the procurement process for the UAE Armed Forces and Abu Dhabi police. He said that this was a tremendous responsibility and one that he took very seriously.
The system that Tawazun inherited had functioned well and was a crucial component of the build-up of the Armed Forces capabilities. Consequently all parties are now moving from strength to strength, and Tawazun aims to enhance its agility and stay ahead of new capabilities and requirements as they emerge.
Al Hosani said that there were a number of areas that Tawazun is focusing on, in order to “keep up the momentum”. One area is in iterative collaboration between Tawazun, the Armed Forces and industry stakeholders. This means ensuring adaptability throughout the course of a program.
He said that the ability to make it easier for SMEs to set up and operate is important when building depth and resilience within the industry as well as developing and strengthening supply chains.
Finally, Tawazun is working to build and reinforce a culture of continuous innovation within the R&D sector. “We need to incentivize all aspects of our innovation and industrial ecosystem, including academia, to push research and development to higher technology readiness levels,” he said.
Al Hosani concluded his speech by noting that the industry must demonstrate a willingness across the defense landscape to adapt and adopt new models and processes to further enhance the national security, resilience, and prosperity of the nation.
