Security firms from 37 countries will display their products at an exhibit of internal state security, law enforcement and defense equipment opening in Qatar Monday, organizers said.
The sixth edition of Milipol, held every year alternately in Paris and the Qatari capital Doha, will see 245 exhibitors taking part, a 15.5 percent increase on the number of participants in the 2004 show, the organizing committee said in a statement Sunday.
But no Israeli firms, which had a sizeable presence in the early editions in Doha, will be on hand this time round.
"No Israeli company asked to take part in the exhibition," said Sheikh Nasser bin Fahd al-Thani, president of the organizing committee.
Gas-rich Qatar, a close US ally, has played host to an Israeli trade mission since 1996 and visits by Israeli officials are relatively frequent.
Security and defense officials from neighboring oil-rich Gulf countries have been invited to the three-day exhibit, which is also expected to be attended by security decision-makers and experts from across the Middle East.
The exhibition, which is organized by the Qatari interior ministry, was held for the first time in Doha in 1996.
During the last edition held in the Qatari capital in October 2004, specialized security firms displayed sophisticated equipment designed to help the countries of the region counter terrorist threats.
Conferences on the fights against terror and money laundering will be held on the sidelines of the exhibit in coordination with the United Nations.
