A|D|S, the UK’s AeroSpace, Defence and Security trade organisation signed a Memorandum of Understanding with its USA and Canadian counterparts, NDIA and CADSI, in Ottawa, Canada.
A|D|S Chief Executive Rees Ward, Lt Gen. Lawrence P Farrell Jr, President of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) and Tim Page, President of the Canadian Association of Defence & Security Industries (CADSI), will all sign the cooperative Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) during a joint A|D|S, NDIA, CADSI defence & security industry symposium.
Ten A|D|S member companies have travelled to Ottawa to participate in the symposium and to visit CANSEC, Canada’s leading Defence & Security sector exhibition. Following the signing of the MoU, the UK companies will hold a half-day of business-to-business meetings to explore new opportunities with US and Canadian defence & security sector companies.
Rees Ward, Chief Executive of A|D|S, said: “The UK’s recovery from recession will not be driven by domestic demand, which remains flat. Exporting our successful products overseas, as highlighted by the new UK Government in its recently-published coalition agreement document, will spark Britain’s economy back into life. As one of the few British industrial sectors in which the country occupies a world-leading position, defence is seeking to add value to the economy by boosting overseas sales.
“A rise in exports can increase economies of scale leading to lower prices. It will also sustain high-tech jobs in the UK and enable us to retain such capability, including in research and development, in the country rather than losing it to competitor nations abroad.
“The Memorandum of Understandings with A|D|S, NDIA and CADSI will provide a robust framework for ongoing collaboration between our organisations and their members. I hope that this visit will be the first of many where the member companies of the three trade organisations can expand upon their already strong defence and security business links. Cooperative relationships between our industries will deliver excellent benefits to the members of all three organisations, to our respective armed forces and to the economies of the three nations who have long been partners as a force for good around the world. In particular we look forward to welcoming them to the Farnborough International Airshow in July.”
