ISLAMABAD, Dec 30: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Defence Production here on Thursday asked the Ministry of Defence Production to strengthen its research and development (R&D) organizations and coordinate with local vendors to encourage indigenous production.

The committee, during a meeting presided over by MNA Fiza Junejo, appreciated the ministry for not only supporting armed forces but also keeping them in state of readiness through its indigenous means.

Ms Junejo said the performance of the ministry and its attached establishments was commendable as they had not only fulfilled the armed forces' demand for defence equipment, but also exported the surplus equipment to foreign countries, thus earning foreign exchange.

Later, the ministry secretary briefed the committee on the organizational structure as well as scope of activities of the ministry and its attached establishments.

The committee appreciated the concept of IDEAS exhibitions and asked the ministry to continue holding such events to attract potential buyers from all over the world and also to boost the export of defence equipment.

The meeting was attended by MNAs Chaudhry Ghayas Ahmad Mela, Mazhar Ahmad Qureshi, Dewan Jaffar Hussain Bokhari, Abdul Waseem, Chaudhry Imranullah Advocate, Hanif Abbasi, Razia Aziz and others.