ISLAMABAD, July 9: President Gen Pervez Musharraf directed the ministry of defence on Tuesday to get the private sector involved in defence arms manufacturing and export.

He visited the Defence Export Promotion Organization (DEPO) and its display centre established next to the General Headquarters, Rawalpindi. The president particularly appreciated the export activities of the private sector and said that it was in the interest of the country and the armed forces that the private sector should be more involved in defence manufacturing and export.

The president also approved the plan for holding IDEAS 2002 exhibition scheduled to be held in Karachi from Sept 16 to 20, 2002, and emphasized its importance in providing a window not only for defence products but also a platform for professional interaction between foreign delegations, senior government/military officials, foreign manufacturers and domestic manufacturers both from public and private sector.

The defence exhibition is a venture of the government, coordinated by DEPO and organized by Pegasus Consultancy. Over 40 foreign delegations were expected to participate in the exhibition. And 43 foreign defence sector companies have already booked space along with a large number of Pakistani defence manufacturing companies.

After the success of Pakistan’s first defence exhibition IDEAS-2000, the president had directed the ministry of defence to establish an organization whose primary mission should be to enhance defence exports. And keeping with the government’s emphasis on austerity, the DEPO was established from within the defence budget and manned by professional drawn from the armed forces.

The president toured the display centre where he was briefed by the marketing directors of the public and private defence manufacturing organizations on their products and existing potential of defence exports. The display centre covers 900 square meters and contains a wide range of products developed and manufactured by Pakistan’s defence industries.

After the tour of display centre, the president was given a briefing on Pakistan’s second defence exhibition and seminar IDEAS-2002.