The
Defence Minister AK Antony will inaugurate the 6th Def
Expo-2010 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi on Monday, February
15th. This was announced by Secretary Defence Production
RK Singh at a Press Conference in New Delhi, today.
Indian Defence Minister
AK Antony
He said the four-day event
will be the largest ever Defence Exposition in Asia and
will showcase India’s emergence as an attractive
destination for investment in the Defence Sector and act
as a platform for alliances and joint ventures in Defence
industry.
Singh said 650 companies
from over 35 countries would display weapon systems for
Army and Navy. Major participants are from USA, UK, Russia,
Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary,
Israel, Korea, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Poland,
Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Ukraine,
Germany, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Israel Italy, Malaysia
and South Africa.
Organised by the Department
of Defence Production, the exhibition will continue till
February 18th. Dedicated to global land and naval systems
business activity – from suppliers to manufacturers,
technology providers to services – the Def Expo
also offers an opportunity to the international defence
industry to promote and showcase their products and services.
The Defence Production
Secretary said the Def Expo would project the emergence
of India as an attractive market as well as an investment
destination for joint ventures in defence industry. The
exhibition has generated attention globally and has carved
a niche amongst major defence exhibitions around the world,
he added.
The Def Expo was conceptualised
in 1998 with an objective to promote defence exports from
India and exhibit the capabilities of Indian defence R&D
and production.
The first exhibition was
held in 1999 and subsequently in 2002, 2004, 2006 and
2008. While a modest 197 exhibitors participated in the
first Def Expo, the biennial event will feature 650 exhibitors
in its 6th edition this year.
Israel is the biggest
participating country in terms of space occupied (1248
sq meters) while the United States is represented with
the maximum number of 25 companies. In the year 2008 there
were 447 exhibitors from 29 countries.
The
exhibition area has almost doubled from 17200 sq meter
in 2008 to 30100 sq meter this year. Defence Ministers
from UK, Bulgaria, Hungary, Nigeria, Turkey, Uganda, Senegal
and Suriname along with Official delegations from 41 countries
would attend the deliberations. Naval Chiefs from Kazakhstan,
Mozambique, Brunei, Qatar and Senegal and Army Chief from
Mongolia will also attend the exhibition.
