His Majesty King Abdullah II on Tuesday opened the eighth edition of the Special Operations Forces Exhibition and Conference- SOFEX 2010.

SOFEX, defence industries exhibition held biennially under the patronage of the King and chaired by Prince Feisal, has brought together 350 exhibiting companies representing 82 countries.

King Abdullah and Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who attended the inauguration, attended a military drill carried out by a battalion of Jordanian Special Forces and showcased weapons manufactured by King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau (KADDB) like "Desert Fox" and "Stallion".

The event was also attended by Prime Minister Samir Rifai, Royal Court Chief Nasser Lozi, senior civil and military officials and high-ranking military Arab and foreign delegations. Attendees also witnessed rescue and search operations executed by a Jordanian elite contingent.

The King also toured the KADBB pavilion and was briefed on vehicles developed by the agency for use by special operations forces He also toured the Public Security Department and Darak (Gendarmerie) Forces pavilions.

King Abdullah also met with British Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff Jonathan Shaw as well as several delegation presidents, defence minister and senior officials participating in SOFEX 2010.

He met with Omani Minister of Defence Affairs Bader Ben Saud Al Busaidi and with Sudan's Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Mohammad Hussein, who conveyed a message from Sudanese President Omar Bashir on Jordanian-Sudanese ties.

The King also met with Kazakhstan Defence Minister Adilbek Dzhaksybekov as well as Gabon's Defence Minister Angelique Ngoma, who conveyed a message from President Omar Bongo which focused on boosting cooperation between the Kingdom and Gabon.