Chiefs of 38 countries to take part in Defence Expo 2020

New Delhi: A 39-member ministerial delegation from Russia, England, and Seychelles, among other countries, is expected to take part in the five-day DefExpo-2020 beginning tomorrow in Uttar Pradesh`s capital city of Lucknow, the Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.

Defence Ministers and service chiefs of 38 countries have confirmed their participation for the 11th edition of Def Expo. The event promises to bring in new technologies and, technological solutions, where Defence manufacturing companies from India and abroad will showcase their products and services in the Defence arena on a single platform, the Ministry said in a statement.

The main theme of this year`s event is `India: The Emerging Defence Manufacturing Hub` and the focus will be on `Digital Transformation of Defence`. As many as 1028 companies have registered for participating in this year`s event, as against 702 in the DefExpo 2018.

The number of participating foreign companies has also increased to 172 from the previous figure of 160. The five-day event will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.

The fifth India Russia Military Industry Conference will be held on the sidelines of DefExpo 2020 at the venue. Over 100 Russian and over 200 Indian industry leaders are expected to participate.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will preside African Defence Ministers` Conclave. He will also host a dinner in the honour of African Defence Ministers, the ministry said. A substantial number of Memoranda of Undertaking (MoUs) are expected to be inked during the Expo, resulting in forging of new business collaborations.