Farnborough Aerospace Consortium (“FAC”) www.fac.org.uk, one of the UK’s largest and most established regional aerospace and defence trade associations has announced that it has signed an MOU with the Middle East Aerospace Consortium (“MEAC”) www.middleeastaerospace.com and A|D|S www.adsgroup.org.uk to extend the benefits it offers to member companies by expanding its business development and representative presence in the Middle East.
FAC is a not-for-profit trade association that works to facilitate business between large global primes and the supply chain, offering advice and support to over 300 consortium members and partners. As a regional association, the FAC assists organisations from SMEs to global primes working in the aerospace and defence industry in the South East of England and furthering the long-term strategic growth of the industry in the UK.
Since 2007, the FAC Dubai office has been valuable in assisting its members with doing business in the UAE. This new agreement will further FAC’s offering to its members in the wider MENA region, offering them access to shared offices in Jeddah and Dubai. MEAC, A|D|S and FAC plan to open two more offices in Bahrain and Qatar within the next year.
Air traffic in the Middle East is expected to grow faster than any other region in the world over the next decade and the Middle East is fast becoming a highly important location for the global aerospace industry. In recognition of this, FAC has formed a partnership that will open up opportunities in the region for its members and give them access to the expert local knowledge offered by MEAC.
John Copley, CEO of FAC commented: “FAC has maintained a representative office in Dubai since 2007, supporting FAC members in accessing the UAE market. We are delighted to be building on this experience and expanding our cooperation with MEAC and A|D|S to support a wider range of UK companies in the region and to strengthen the support provided to FAC members in accessing the wider Middle East region.”
John Ellis, CEO of MEAC added: “We are delighted to be able to offer support to ADS and FAC member companies to help them develop business in the Middle East Aerospace Market. We will be providing a bespoke level of service to each company who joins the programme to develop business. Members will also have the benefit of a number of high profile events occurring throughout the region as well as many networking events.”
