DSA 2018 Moves to Brand-New Venue

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 21 (Bernama) -- The Defence Services Asia Exhibition and Conference 2018 (DSA 2018) will be held at a brand-new venue here from April 16-19, 2018. The Asian premier defence and services show will move to the recently-completed Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC) in Jalan Tunku Abdul Halim here. The move to MITEC was announced by Deputy Defence minister Mohd Johari Baharum in Abu Dhabi Tuesday, where DSA is participating in the International Defence Exhibition & Conference (IDEX). Mohd Johari also received signed participation contracts from the US Pavilion coordinator, Kollman Worldwide, Inc., and the sales agent for the German Pavilion, PEXPO Services. Both companies are securing exhibition space of 500 square metres (sqm), respectively. "With DSA celebrating its milestone 30th anniversary in 2018, the move to MITEC is timely and highly strategic in taking the biennial show to its next level of success. "It will also further cement Malaysia's stature as host to one of the world's top five defence and security events," Mohd Johari said in a statement Tuesday. Since its inception in 1988, the DSA series has grown by leaps and bounds, from just 394 exhibiting companies across a space of 6,000 sqm in the first year to record-breaking 1,200 companies spanning across 41,500 sqm of exhibition space during DSA 2016. The upcoming DSA 2018 is expected to occupy 42,000 sqm of space and the show's move to a new venue is crucial in facilitating its tremendous growth and expansion that is expected to continue in the coming years, Johari said. Some 42,000 trade visitors from 70 countries are expected to attend DSA 2018 besides 1,200 participating companies that are anticipated in the four-day event. The new location, MITEC, is located 20 minutes from the previous location of the exhibition at the Putra World Trade Centre here. Aside from showcasing the latest hardware and software technologies and services in the defence and security sectors, participants and visitors will also be able to share ideas and knowledge on defence and security challenges affecting their countries. The Business-to-Business Meetings segment would also make its highly-anticipated return to the show next year. -- BERNAMA