In an outreach to friendly countries and defence manufacturers across the globe, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today chaired an ”Ambassadors’ Round Table for DefExpo 2022” at which he reaffirmed India’s readiness to meet the defence requirements of other nations.

The round table was aimed to brief the envoys of foreign missions about the planning, arrangements and other details of DefExpo 2022, which will be held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat between 10-13 March, 2022.

More than 200 delegates, including ambassadors, heads of missions and defence attaches attended the round table, reflecting the growing global interest in the Indian Defence space.

Inviting the foreign delegates to attend DefExpo 2022, Asia’s largest defence exhibition, Rajnath Singh said India was open to conduct business on a mutually beneficial collaborative basis, in the spirit of give and take, for all-round welfare of everyone.

He exuded confidence that DefExpo 2022 would bring all the latest technologies under one roof and provide a myriad of opportunities to the stakeholders in the aerospace and defence industry.

“Resurgent India, where defence manufacturing is an identified pillar of growth, will display its ability to take lead at DefExpo 2022. I am confident that pursuing the vision of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi, DefExpo-2022 will sow the seeds of successful new ventures and international partnerships to promote shared prosperity, boost investment, expand manufacturing and bolster aerospace and defence ecosystem in India, which shall be ready to serve the defence requirements of our friendly countries also,” said the minister.

He thanked the foreign delegates for participating in DefExpo 2020 & Aero India 2021 and said DefExpo 2022 was aimed to further the benchmark of its previous editions with greater presence of foreign and Indian exhibitors. “We are committed to supporting the partnerships that have been forged thus far as also form newer bonds for mutual growth,” he said.

Rajnath added that DefExpo 2022 would provide an overview of what India has been able to achieve in terms of defence R&D and production, application of modern technologies, and liberalised collaborative policies introduced by the Government in the last seven years.

Emphasising that the government was committed to furthering the defence business interests through synergistic growth, he expressed confidence that increased international participation will lead to development of mutually advantageous relationships between India and other countries.

At DefExpo-2022, which coincides with ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations, the countries will not only get an opportunity to showcase their equipment and platforms, but also be able to explore the strengths and capabilities of the expansion of the Indian Defence industry for forging Business partnerships. The event will help boost investment, expand manufacturing capacities and capabilities, discover avenues for technology absorption and thus, contribute to furthering the target of $5 Billion defence export by 2024.