KARACHI: Pakistan Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, has visited the International Defence Exhibition and Seminar (IDEAS-2024) in Karachi and held wide-ranging talks with the visiting delegations, the military media wing said on Thursday.
The 12th edition of IDEAS-24 has been organised at Expo Center Karachi from 19 to 22 November 2024 under the auspices of the Defence Export Promotion Organization (DEPO).
During the visit, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza held separate meetings with numerous officials including Defence Ministers, Commanders of Armed Forces and other important officials from different countries, including Turkiye, Azerbaijan, South Africa, Argentina, Malaysia, UAE, Cambodia, Kingdom of Eswatini, Gambia, Brunei, Maldives and Malawi, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a press release.
“During the aforementioned meetings, key aspects of the defence and security relationship were discussed. All parties reflected on various areas of bilateral security and cooperation, especially in defence production. The dignitaries expressed a strong interest in deepening their engagement with Pakistan’s defence sector, the ISPR stated.
A total of 557 exhibitors are participating in the exhibition of which 333 are international exhibitors while 224 are domestic exhibitors. Thirty-six countries established exhibitors’ stalls of which 17 countries are participating for the first time.
Over 300 foreign delegates from 53 countries attended the event and showed full confidence in the exhibition and the defence industry of Pakistan.
The ISPR said Chairman JCSC also gave a keynote speech at a seminar, titled “Pakistan’s Defence Production and Potential: Challenges and Way Forward”.
The Chairman JCSC emphasized that Pakistan’s defence industry is the force behind equipping the battle-hardened Armed Forces of Pakistan. He further said that through superior R&D and using innovative and cost-effective solutions, Pakistan’s defence industries are not only fulfilling the country’s essential defence requirements but also exploring avenues of collaboration in the international defence market.
“He noted that the platform of IDEAS is an ideal opportunity for publicizing Pakistan’s well-developed Defence Industrial Complex to the international community,” the ISPR said.
The press release said the Chairman JCSC also visited the Pakistan Pavilion and lauded the efforts of Tri-Services in showcasing Pakistan’s indigenous defence-related equipment manufactured at par with global standards. He also appreciated the efforts of DEPO in organising the event and thanked all foreign companies for their participation.
Since its inception in the year 2000, IDEAS has emerged as an international rendezvous for defence manufacturers, entrepreneurs, defence specialists, financial experts and top-level policymakers to promote cooperation, knowledge sharing and support ventures in the field of defence collaboration.
IDEAS-2024 has surpassed all previous milestones in terms of space, booking, exhibitors and delegates both domestic and foreign. Exhibitors from Turkey, China, Iran, the UK, North America, South America, Europe, Asia and other regions are participating in the mega defence exhibition.
