KARACHI: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday said Pakistan was against an arms race in the region, however would pursue the motto of ‘arms for peace’.
Addressing at the inauguration of four-day ninth International Defence Exhibition and Seminar (IDEAS) here, the Prime Minister said Pakistan was committed to discouraging arms race and promoting “the motto of arms for peace, which has always been the tagline of IDEAS”.
The Prime Minister said Pakistan had achieved self-reliance indefence production and mentioned that IDEAS-2016 was a demonstration of collaboration of local and foreign technologies.
He said over 2,000 weapons system and equipment on display at the exhibition reflected broad-based participation of the country’s public and private sector in defence production, supported by research and development.
The Prime Minister said the country’s defence products were state-of-the-art and stood fully tested by its armed forces.
“Our defence products have made their mark in many countries of the world,” he said, adding there still existed manyopportunities for further growth and exploration of new markets.
He said Pakistan was fast emerging producer of quality defence products.
“The promise of today’s Pakistan is brighter and reassuring than every before,” he said.
The Prime Minister invited foreign companies to expand their business linkages with Pakistan in the field of defence production.
He expressed Pakistan’s commitment for regional peace, sayingthat “we will explore the way forward for peace and stability in theworld in general and our region in particular”.
Nawaz Sharif said the environment for foreign investment was encouraging in the country in view of improved law and order situation, besides power projects being completed on time.
He congratulated the organizers of sideline conferences duringIDEAS 2016, which he said would facilitate exchanging technologiesfor mutual benefits and bringing together buyers and sellers – oneof the core objectives of the country’s defence exhibitions.
Later, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif inaugurated the exhibition,flanked by Defence Minister Khwaja Asif, Chief of Army Staff GeneralRaheel Sharif, Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral Mohammad Zakaullahand Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman.
The Prime Minister also visited the stalls of the IDEASexhibition where major indigenously developed products have beenshowcased including battle tank Al-Khalid, JF-17 Thunder, SuperMushshak and K-8 aircraft, Fast Attack Craft Missile boats, armouredpersonnel carriers and military hardware.
The Prime Minister was apprised that defence industries ofTurkey, China, Russia, North America, South America, Europe and Asia had a significant presence at IDEAS 2016, while nine more countries were participating this time including Belarus, Poland, CzechRepublic, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Switzerland, Romania and
Nigeria.
Thirty-four countries and a total of 418 companies areparticipating in IDEAS 2016, including 261 foreign and 157 Pakistanicompanies.
The exhibition will continue till November 25.