I think it’s a good time to initiate a discussion on Pakistan’s indigenous production of arms and ammo considering that IDEAS 2002 is only few weeks away. Post all the news, articles and information in this folder.
Pakistan provides a unique opportunity by hosting a biennial tri-service international defence exhibition, IDEAS, while having a robust defence production industry that continues to search for external collaboration to meet the growing needs of the international market.
After the massive success of the first show, efforts are now mounting to stage yet another and far more successful show; the 2nd International Defence Exhibition and Seminar, IDEAS 2002, to be held from 17 - 20 September 2002. The proven record of IDEAS, strengthened by the presence of 40 high level delegations having a combined procurement budget of over USD 20 billion, prides IDEAS and its organisers for being the initiators in converging the geo-politically significant nations from across the globe in Pakistan. The visitors, exhibitors as well as government and trade delegations represented more than 30 countries in terms of overall participation at IDEAS.
Featuring a focused and interactive environment, IDEAS offers its participants not only a rewarding platform to display their products but also an exclusive and result-oriented direct interaction with their prospective buyers. Besides creating awareness for various products and services, IDEAS is also an ideal opportunity for the leading industry players to assess competitive advantages, evaluate the vendor industry and re-position themselves amongst the global defence industry.
A new wave of interest in buying arms from Pakistan has been triggered amongst many countries with the advent of IDEAS. Also, a number of deals between Pakistan and countries from the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Africa have been signed and many other procurement negotiations are underway. In addition, Italy has also signed an agreement to establish co-operation in defence production with Pakistan.
IDEAS 2000 featured a static display of Pakistani Naval Fleet at the Dockyard that included Warships, Missile Boats and Submarines. Moreover, a massive Firing Demonstration accentuated the success of IDEAS, which is now ranked as the world’s largest display of its kind. Now, an even better opportunity awaits the participants at IDEAS 2002.
Putting on an arms expo of international standards is a highly demanding business, requiring inputs from scores of organisations and defence-related industries. Moreover, effective coordination between the private sector organisations and government agencies plays a pivotal role. On the other hand, the post-September 11 developments have benefited Pakistan not only in terms of gaining worldwide recognition and popularity as the most significant ally in the region to fight out terrorism which, in turn, resulted in lifting of a number of defence-related sanctions. This overall scenario provides an excellent opportunity for Pakistan to enter the global regulated arms trade regime with a new strength while attracting an even greater participation by the international defence industry at IDEAS.
IDEAS 2002 will showcase Pakistan’s booming defence and allied production capabilities and provide a platform for significantly boosting the country’s arms exports. In addition, an even higher turnover of the light and heavy arms manufacturing along with trade representatives of friendly countries is expected to be a part of this event.
The success of IDEAS 2000 and extensive marketing efforts by the organisers, in coordination with the Pakistan Armed Forces, have already led to the booking of more than 70% of exhibit space, while reservations and queries are still pouring in with a high frequency for IDEAS 2002. Apart from many previous participants, a large number of new Pakistani manufacturing / service companies are actively displaying their products and skills while looking towards the potential joint ventures and foreign contracts. China, Turkey, Ukraine, Romania, France and Italy are already showing interest to participate in a much bigger way. These developments depict that the realisation of the requirements for staging a successful show in the Asian region has been put into its tangible form. In order to accommodate a larger number of participating companies at IDEAS 2002, a new and much larger hall is also being built at the Karachi Expo Centre, i.e., the exhibition venue.
The International Defence Seminar, being the integral part of IDEAS 2002, will feature eminent speakers from the world’s defence industry. The extensive programme, with its core emphasis on Asia’s geo-strategic importance, highlighting the Asian defence scenario on one hand as a theme and the Asian defence markets on the other. Maximum time for interaction between the speakers and attendees throughout its conduct is yet another distinct feature of the seminar. The seminar is now planned to be held on the 16th of September, i.e., a day prior to the main event.
IDEAS, now counted amongst the most established and prestigious international arms shows, is an interactive platform for the manufacturers and trading concerns from far and wide to share expertise and technological achievements with rest of the world and enhance their global presence.