<center"> Steve duMont, president of GM Defense (left) and Shareef Hashim Al Hashmi, CEO of Tawazun Council signing their MOU at IDEX 2023

Hybrid electric vehicle power and propulsion specialist GM Defense has inked its first partnership in the Middle East, with the Tawazun Council, the UAE government entity that supports defence and security investments and promotes innovation and R&D in the defence sector. 

Shareef Hashim Al Hashmi, CEO of Tawazun Council and Steve duMont, president of GM Defense signed a collaborative Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) as the first step toward a formal partnership to develop future products in the areas of advanced mobility and power solutions. The MOU was signed at Tawazun Council’s Chalet at IDEX 2023.

With the MOU in place, GM Defense — which leverages the proven commercial technologies of its parent company, General Motors, and the vast battery electric investments made by GM to bring innovation to global defence and government customers — and Tawazun Council —— will facilitate business with the shared objective of delivering efficient and advanced solutions to military, security and government customers from the UAE and across the region. 

Priority opportunities covered by the MOU include cooperative research and development, regional production and assembly, and post-production support and global logistics focused on the key technology areas of integrated vehicles; power and propulsion — including fuel cell and power generation; and autonomy and connectivity.

“Our collaboration with Tawazun Council is an important step in expanding our reach to defence and government customers in the Middle East,” said duMont. “We are committed to building long-term, lasting relationships in the region and to delivering solutions featuring some of the most advanced, commercially proven technologies that offer reliability and flexibility. With this MOU in place, we can more effectively help our global customers transition to a more electric, autonomous and connected future.”

“Today’s agreement marks an important, new relationship that further strengthens our nation’s domestic defence industrial base while offering new opportunities for an expanding technology development and supply partnership with GM Defense,” said Al Hashmi, CEO of Tawazun Council. “Tawazun is uniquely positioned within the region as a resource for operations, production and development for world-class technology companies like GM Defense. Our strong global tie makes us an advantageous partner.”

The MOU with Tawazun Council is the first partnership for GM Defense in the Middle East and helps the business expand its reach following the 2022 announcement of GM Defense International. GM Defense’s ability to leverage GM’s advanced commercial platforms, manufacturing and global supply chain and advanced electrification technologies enable the company to deliver commercially proven solutions with innovation, speed and flexibility.