IDEAS-2018 to help promote Pakistani defence products: defence minister

KARACHI: Defence Minister Pervez Khattak on Wednesday said the exhibition IDEAS-2018 provided better opportunities to increase the export of our defence products.

“Pakistan is producing better and low-cost defence products on a local level that would also decrease the need to import weapons and would earn substantial revenue with our quality products,” he said while talking to media persons after visiting IDEAS-2018 in Karachi.

“IDEAS-2018 is a message of peace for the world and I am extremely thankful to all the organisations and institutions for their efforts to make it happen,” he said.

The four-day defence exhibition was inaugurated by President Arif Alvi on November 27 and will continue till November 30.

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IDEAS-2018 has surpassed all previous milestones in terms of space, booking, exhibitors and delegates – domestic and foreigners, and Karachi Expo Centre has been booked to its full capacity with 522 exhibitors from 51 countries, including Pakistan, the officials informed.

Organised under the aegis of Defence Export Promotion Organisation (DEPO), IDEAS brings together defence industry players from different parts of the world.

Besides Pakistan itself, other major exporters of defence technology including China, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Turkey, UAE, Ukraine, USA are exhibiting their exclusive country pavilions at IDEAS=18.

The event comprises a series of activities from the world’s advance defence technologies, an international seminar and the IDEAS Karachi Show to a counter-terrorism demonstration.

Exclusive land, maritime and aviation conferences by Pakistan Army, Navy and the Air Force respectively is another highlight of IDEAS 2018.