KARACHI, Pakistan: The 9th International Defence Exhibition and Seminar, (IDEAS) 2016 began at the Expo Centre Karachi on Tuesday (November 22, 2016) with the presence of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
The route leading to the Expo Centre from Jinnah International Airport Karachi had been decorated with national flags and buntings, and welcome-banners had also been placed along the route for the participants of the exhibition. Elaborate security and traffic arrangements had also been made for the occasion.
The four-day (November-22-25) biennial event was expected to draw 90 delegations representing 43 countries of the world. These delegations would be led by their respective countries’ defence ministers, defence secretaries, chief defence staff and other senior officials.
A total 418 companies from 34 countries including 157 Pakistani firms would showcase their products in this mega defence event.
This year nine new countries were participating in the exhibition because of the successful marketing by the Defence Export Promotion Organisation (DEPO). These countries included Luxembourg, Denmark, Belarus, Poland, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Belgium, Nigeria and Romania.
The DEPO Director Media Commodore Tahir Javed told a news conference that overwhelming response from the companies from across the world had boosted our confidence, and it proved the success of this mega event.
He said that the holding of IDEAS-2016 was a moment of pride for the nation, and it demonstrated that Pakistan was not behind any one in manufacturing quality defence products.
The Commodore further pointed out the level of positive response could be gauged from the fact that a large portion of Expo Centre had been booked by the defence production companies invited from different countries including Turkey, China and Russia.
The DEPO Media Coordinator informed that indigenously-built defence products which included tanks, fighter jets, missile boats, Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), and other military equipment would be showcased at the IDEAS-2016.
He pointed that several high-level meetings would also take place between the foreign delegations to promote cooperation in defence production.
Another important feature of the IDEAS-2016 was the International Defence Seminar, which would be held on Tuesday evening at a hotel here. The occasion would be graced by President Mamnoon Hussain.
Besides the exhibition, conferences would also be held on November 23-24 at the Expo Centre. The IDEAS-2016 would conclude on November 25.
