KARACHI: Pakistan kicked off an annual defense exhibition in its southern port city of Karachi on Tuesday, bringing together some of the leading national and international manufacturers of military grade hardware and software.
The country’s foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari inaugurated the 11th International Defense Exhibition and Seminar (IDEAS 2022) instead of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif who tested positive for COVID-19.
Organized by the Defense Export Promotion Organization (DEPO), the four-day exhibition aspires to be the top defense industry platform for major national and international players by encouraging them to display their latest technological innovations.
According to the organizers of the event, over 500 exhibitors from Turkiye, China, North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Far East have set up stalls at the Karachi Expo Center where the mega event has been arranged.
Nearly 60 percent of participants are international manufacturing companies while the rest are local firms.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony, the foreign minister said the country’s defense industry had achieved a significant level of quality and reliability, adding that its products could easily compete with other military good available in the international market.
“Pakistan is now exporting high-level defense products to more than 60 countries,” he continued.
Bhutto-Zardari said Pakistan, being a responsible state, was committed to playing its role for international peace.
He emphasized the need to resolve the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the United Nations resolutions and aspirations of the people of the region to strengthen regional peace, progress and economic development.
The foreign minister noted that Pakistan’s coalition government had been striving to engage in efforts to the bring the country out of its multiple challenges.
“The most serious among these crises that we spent most of our time and energy on is the stabilization of our economy,” he told the ceremony. “We inherited an economic catastrophe where Pakistan was on the precipice of default, and thanks to Allah by the efforts of the unity government Pakistan was saved.”
He added the current administration of the country was trying to fix the energy woes and rebuild foreign relations.
“At this time,” he continued, “we have been focusing on making service delivery efficient and people centric, fixing Pakistan’s energy woes, rebuilding Pakistan’s foreign relations, and giving a sense of stability in our policy.”
Bhutto-Zardari said the best way to safeguard and strengthen national security was to achieve economic self-reliance, rebuild and strengthen political institutions and ensure rule of law.
“In order to do so,” he maintained, “each and every institution should function in its constitutional domain with primary focus on their objectives.”
He was also accompanied by the governor and chief minister of Sindh province and visited different stalls set up by various companies at the Expo Center.
