Dubai - MENA Herald : HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), President and Founder of Water, Energy, Technology, and Environment Exhibition (WETEX 2016), recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tom Kallman, President and CEO of Kallman Worldwide, which organises US National Pavilions’ participation in exhibitions and conferences in the Middle East and North Africa, to promote the 18th WETEX in the US and boost American companies’ participation.
DEWA is organising WETEX under the directives of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Minister of Finance, and President of DEWA, from 4 – 6 October 2016 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The signing ceremony was attended by Dr. Yousef Al Akraf, Executive Vice President of Business Support and Human Resources at DEWA, and Waleed Salman, Executive Vice President of Strategy & Business Development, and senior officials from DEWA.
“We are delighted to enter into a partnership with Kallman Worldwide which is accredited by the US Department of Commerce. This agreement is in line with DEWA’s keenness to enhance participation of US companies in the next WETEX 2016. WETEX 2016 is held under the umbrella of the 3rd Green Week 2016 and is gaining a growing reputation as a platform that is used by DEWA to spread the concepts of sustainability in energy, water, environment, green economy and development, smart cities, and other relevant sectors in line with its vision to become a sustainable innovative institution on a global level," said Al Tayer.
The MoU will promote WETEX to US companies, and provide an opportunity for hundreds of companies operating in water, environment, energy and renewable energy to participate in the US National Pavilion. This will contribute to raising the profile of these companies in the region especially DEWA’s strategic projects in solar energy, clean coal sectors, and its global smart initiatives.
A huge turnout is expected of US companies and they see in the exhibition a good place to put up their solutions and green products at a time when the UAE and the Government of Dubai continue to launch pioneering projects to strengthen the foundations of green economy and sustainable development. WETEX has succeeded in previous years, particularly in 2015, to attract a wide range of American companies, due to its 17 years of success to become one of the best specialised exhibitions in the world. The American pavilion in the previous WETEX included American companies such as Silver Spring Networks, Mueller Co, E3 Water, Smith & Loveless, Electronic Technologies Corporation, LG NanoH2O, Membrane Solutions, and Eaton, among others. The previous exhibition also saw significant support from leading American associations such as the American Water Works Association.
DEWA has recently conducted its Dubai-USA Briefing in California, in collaboration with the National US-Arab Chamber of Commerce (NUSACC), the organisation that promotes and supports US-Arab business and economic cooperation. The US Department of Energy (DoE), the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, US Commercial Services, and the US—UAE Business Council also supported the event.
The event was part of a visit by HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and MD & CEO of DEWA, in response to an invitation from the DoE to participate at the Final Award Ceremony of the Solar Decathlon USA held in Irvine, California from 14—18 October. At the event, it was announced that the Middle East's first inaugural Solar Decathlon, an international competition that challenges teams to design and build smart houses powered exclusively by the sun, will take place in Dubai between 2018–2020, coinciding with the Dubai Expo 2020.
The DEWA–USA network meeting encouraged US energy companies to participate in Dubai’s economic growth and provide the latest oil, gas, clean coal, renewable energy, solar power generation, smart grids, efficiency, and conservation technologies.
The event included a presentation about DEWA Strategic Projects, Strategic Initiatives, UAE Water Aid (Suqia), and business opportunities for US Companies to participate at WETEX 2016.
American companies, provided and overview on nature of business and demonstrated mutual interests of benefits and future partnerships
The WETEX 2015 attracted 1,696 exhibitors from 46 countries, and more than 22,000 visitors over the three days exhibition. With the presence and support 51 sponsors and on a platform 55,000 square meters of exhibition area was spread over nine halls.
