Israel signs on as 17th member of NDIA’s International Division
MAI President Shraga Brosh, seated left, and NDIA Executive Vice President James Boozer sign a memorandum of understanding before representatives of their groups March 29 at NDIA headquarters in Arlington, VA.
ARLINGTON, VA -- With pens in hand, delegations from the Manufacturers Association of Israel (MAI) and the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) entered an agreement that makes the Middle Eastern country the 17th member of NDIA’s international partnerships, NDIA announced Friday, March 29.
Shraga Brosh, MAI president, and James Boozer, NDIA executive vice president, signed a memorandum of understanding before representatives of their groups at NDIA headquarters in Arlington, VA. The agreement brings MAI, NDIA’s Israeli equivalent, into the organization’s International Division, which seeks to orchestrate partnerships and policy, making it easier for global businesses to work with the U.S. defense industrial base.
“We are excited to have MAI join NDIA and represent Israel in our international partnerships,” Boozer said. “MAI’s strong support of the Israeli industrial base gels nicely with NDIA’s support of the U.S. defense industrial base. Together, we can find opportunities for solid partnerships and collaboration.”
MAI’s 1,500 members represent about 400,000 workers of companies in Israel’s industrial base that are private, public, government and kibbutz-owned enterprises in both commercial and defense sectors, according to the organization. MAI supports free and open trade based on reciprocity and fair-trade practices and enables opportunities for international trade.
Also attending as a keynote speaker was Brennan Grignon, director of policy and industry outreach in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment.
About 30 MAI members attended the signing, most of whom represented small- and mid-size businesses. Roughly 12 NDIA International Division members and association leaders were on hand for the event, including representatives of Boeing Co., Leonardo and Lockheed Martin.
The other 16 countries of NDIA’s International Division are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.