The 15 edition of Milipol Qatar is scheduled to take place on 29 October 2024.

This year’s International Event for Internal Security and Civil Defence, Milipol Qatar 2022, secured successful deals amounting to QAR 592 million ($163 million) and saw the attendance of 11,500 visitors.

Concluded on May 26, this year’s edition of the expo covered yet another breaking record base by hosting 222 exhibitors from 22 countries, in which 60 percent of the exhibitors were participating for the first time, Major General Nasser bin Fahd Al Thani, Chairman of the Milipol Qatar Committee, confirmed in a press conference.

The exhibitors that made an appearance for the first time included eight countries, namely Australia, Canada, Cyprus, Croatia, Finland, India, Slovakia, and the Netherlands.

The exhibition also includes pavilions from five countries for the first time, including France, North America, Germany, Italy, and Austria, as well as independent international participation.

As this edition of Milipol Qatar comes against a forecast backdrop for the Middle East’s homeland security of 14.5 percent annual growth until 2025, it mainly focused on mega events safety and cybersecurity as the World Cup 2022 approaches.

“Qatar readies to host the FIFA Wold Cup 2022 and bids to host the 2032 Olympic Games. Therefore, mega events safety and cybersecurity are not only two of the main drivers of global markets; they are also particularly relevant for the State of Qatar and for the region,” commented Prefect Yann Jounot, President of Milipol events and CEO of Civipol.

The top general maintained that talks are currently underway to sign several partnership contracts, as most of the companies that participated specialised in the field of Cybersecurity.

Director of Milipol International Events Francois Jullier singled out this year’s edition of the security event as one with inclusion of security equipment, civil defence, anti-drone technology and firefighting.

The event also saw the participation of sectors specialised in technical solutions, safe management of major events, combating trans-border cyber crime.

Cybersecurity efforts in Qatar

Doha has particularly increased its efforts in cybersecurity since its experience of cybercrime in 2017, which saw the official Qatar News Agency hacked by external forces.

The hacking falsely attributed fake statements to the country’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, leading to the immediate and illegal land, air and sea blockade of Doha by neighbouring countries, including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt.

The National Cybersecurity Agency announced last week that it has trained more than 25,000 employees in various entities in the country. The training sessions were centred around a number of programmes related to educational and specialised foundation tracks in the field of information security during the period from March 2021 until now.

The director of public relations and communication at the agency, Mohamed Ahmed Al Ansari, said the entity has worked with more than 70 governmental, security and non-governmental agencies since its establishment.

On Saturday it was reported that Morocco agreed to deploy a team of cybersecurity experts to Qatar ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar.  This came on the sidelines of Milipol Qatar 2022.

Qatar has partnered with various countries to boost its security department. Some of these include Turkey and the United Kingdom.

In 2021, Turkey assured it will be sending approximately 3,000 members of its riot police units to the Gulf state for the major sporting tournament.

On Sunday, the United Kingdom government stated that it will provide the Gulf country with counter-terror policing throughout the World Cup. The security support will include maritime security from the Royal Navy as well as advanced venue search training.

The UK will also provide operational planning during the much anticipated World Cup 2022 due in November.