The UAE is a federation of seven Emirates, each with its own Ruler. These are Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Fujairah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah and Umm Al Quwain. The city of Abu Dhabi is the federal capital and the city of Dubai is the main trading centre. Most of the federation's economic development has been concentrated in the two richest and most powerful of the seven Emirates, Abu Dhabi and Dubai; the remainder are relatively underdeveloped.
The UAE Government is extremely concerned with its safety and security. New plans on how to better secure sensitive areas, and installations, as well as protect prominent government officials are continuously being drawn up and existing installations updated. The Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Interior (includes the Civil Defence Department and Border and Coast Guard) are the main consumers of security systems and equipment followed by oil companies.
International security experts have been urging Gulf States to enhance border surveillance, exchange intelligence and boost cooperation to prevent terrorist attacks. The UAE's coastline stretches for 1,300 km and the UAE has numerous islands especially in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Like many prosperous nations located near less-prosperous nations, the UAE struggles to combat the smuggling of illegal aliens along its coastline. Coastal surveillance systems are generating significant interest for that purpose as well as for the security of the UAE's numerous offshore oil platforms. With new and modern marinas being established in the numerous beach resorts, luxury boat ownership has also been on the rise, offering very good opportunities for all types of marine security systems, including boat -locating systems, GPS navigation systems, collision avoidance systems, and low-light or night-vision devices.
According to the UAE Contractors' Association, the UAE construction market was worth approximately £20 billion in 2003 and is the largest sector after oil and gas. With Dubai's development as a major international tourist centre and regional business and manufacturing base, this growth is set to continue and there are plans to construct up to 45 new hotels in Dubai over the next 5-10 years. This in turn means that the UAE market offers good opportunities for security systems and equipment firms. The current market size is estimated at $ 750 million; the market is estimated to increase by 25 % annually over the next 5 years as a number of security-related projects are in planning stages. Suppliers of US security equipment had over 20 percent of the total imports in 2004 while Asian firms had about 45 percent and European firms 35 percent.
Security officials are continuously developing new plans to improve security around sensitive areas and installations, as well as to protect prominent government officials. These plans usually require identification and access control equipment, perimeter security, monitoring and control devices, video monitors, CCTV cameras, warning and signalling devices, personal protection devices and accessories, armoured and emergency response vehicles, and checking, searching and investigation equipment, including x-ray inspection equipment.
This will all add to the substantial market growth expected over the next few years. Industry sources have reported 15-20% per annum growth in the Security and Safety sector over the last three years and expect that this growth will continue.
The majority of local governments and federal ministries based in Dubai are required to purchase through local agents, who may also assist in marketing and sales, although it is still possible for a company outside the UAE to sell directly to contractors.

Business tradition
Information regarding upcoming "security-related" projects is difficult to obtain, because the UAE government does not release information regarding the scope or dollar value of its security projects. There are no real barriers for the import of security equipment into the country; however, the import of certain weapons and the installation of communications intercept and surveillance systems require prior permission from the Ministry of Interior.
In most cases, any security and safety firms will not deal directly with the agencies for the purchase of equipment. It is standard practice here for these agencies to issue tenders and seek bids from commercial companies to acquire products for resale to the government agencies. It is imperative that firms should be careful in selecting a local company to maximise opportunities to approach government ministries and equally imperative to be sensitive to the relationship the local firm has with the government agencies. Failure to perform or delayed performance can result in heavy fines and blacklisting for the local firms and this can have an adverse impact on opportunities for exporters.

Border control
There are some specific areas within the security sector which offer a great potential for exporters, according to the US Department of Commerce). One such area is border control.
There is a high need for border control as the UAE as well as the surrounding countries have large coastlines and borders, which are just partly protected and so there is an increasing need for security measures against smuggling and illegal immigration. Official statistics quote that more than 1,500 trucks and 1,300 passenger cars per day pass between UAE and Saudi Arabia through the Al Batha crossing point on the Saudi side of the border and the Al Ghewaifat on the UAE side. Abu Dhabi Police are in the process of redesigning and upgrading the Ghewaifat border to improve security and to ease passage.
Intersec, which is held in Dubai every year, is probably the most well known security exhibition in the area among western security industry companies.
At a recent GCC Airport Security meeting, high-level security officials announced a regional initiative to build security operation rooms at all airports in GCC countries and then interlink them to help meet security challenges. Dubai has one of the largest airports in the region and as the risk of terrorist attacks is increasing, the Airport Security and Border control is also a very important task for the local authorities.
There are massive airport expansion plans in the region including $ 8 billion Doha International Airport, $ 6 billion Abu Dhabi International Airport, $ 5 billion additional expansion of Dubai International Airport and Jebel Ali Airport development, $1.5 billion expansion of Jeddah's King Abdulaziz Airport, $500 million modernisation of existing facilities at Kuwait Int'l Airport, and $ 1 billion upgrade of Bahrain Int'l Airport. Security is expected to account for 10-15% of total expenditures in these airport expansion and improvement projects.
A survey conducted last year by security experts concluded that Middle East ports should also invest more in land and sub-sea surveillance technology, including cameras and detectors, as part of the effort to combat shipping security threats. Ports have a crucial role in ensuring the security of the region's maritime industry, including the 12,000 vessels a year that pass through the Straits of Hormuz.

Command and Control Centres
Command and control centres have become an area of heavy investment as well. Dubai police have recently signed an agreement with Siemens for a new command and control centre at their new headquarters in Dubai. The agreement is to build, activate and implement the centre in 11 months. The new centre will allow police to monitor Dubai through a network of sophisticated remote cameras and advanced observation equipment.
Dubai Airport is bidding a safety and security command and control centre to help centralise and better monitor its massive facilities. A number of companies like Boeing, Siemens, and Thales were initially bidding on this project but the competition narrowed down as Boeing pulled out because of indemnification and liability issues and it is believed that Dubai Police and Civil Aviation Authorities are in negotiations with Siemens on this $400 million project.
UAE Armed Forces is in the process of selecting a Defence contractor for a multi-billion dollar C4I project that will help better integrate its land, air, and naval forces. Raytheon, EADS, Lockheed Martin, Marconi, Northrop Grumman, and a number of other International Defence Contractors have been bidding on this project over the last 2 years.

Critical Infrastructure Security
There is a growing concern in the UAE and around the region about threats to critical infrastructure facilities like oil & gas production onshore and offshore platforms, storage & shipping facilities, offshore pipelines and to utility plants and water supply facilities.
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and emirate level utility companies are working closely with the ministries of interior and defence to implement immediate measures to secure these facilities and one can anticipate the deployment of a number of new systems in these fields. This is a new potential sub-sector for security consultants, system integrators and security equipment suppliers.
In addition to these facilities, there is a growing demand for advanced security systems for government buildings, palaces and foreign embassies throughout the Middle East. After 9/11, the perimeter security concept in the region has evolved from basic CCTVs and locks to complete and comprehensive access control and monitoring systems. The other major development in perimeter security is the swelling demand for Security Consulting firms to act as security engineers and project managers.

Exhibitions
In Abu Dhabi the Security industry is the focus of attention bi-annually at the Security & Safety Middle East show. Intersec, which is held in Dubai every year, is probably the most well known security exhibition in the area among western security industry companies. Mepol in Sharjah and ATPS ME, which is the region's only integrated conference and exhibition with focus on Security in the transportation sector, are other platforms for suppliers of security products and services to meet professional buyers in the region.