Article Posted on : - Mar 27, 2012

NEW DELHI (PTI): China has accepted the Indian Defence Ministry's invitation to participate in the upcoming Defexpo-12, an exhibition of defence systems and weapons, and would be sending a delegation for the four-day event here.

A total of 567 companies from 32 countries will display weapon systems for the Army, Navy and Internal Security during the seventh edition of the biennial show starting March 29, Secretary(Defence Production) Shekhar Aggarwal told reporters.

"China is also participating and they are sending an official delegation which could be headed by a Major General-level officer," Aggarwal said when asked to confirm whether invitation was sent to China or not.

Some of the major participants include Russia, France and Israel, USA, UK, Italy, Singapore, Canada and Germany, he said.

"A total of 60 delegations would be coming in this year's exhibition from 60 participating companies. 14 delegations would be headed by their Ministers and remaining by Defence Secretaries or Service Chiefs. During last year's expo total 42 delegations had participated," he said.

On the ever increasing size and popularity of the biggest defence expo of Asia, Aggarwal said, "In this year's Defexpo, a total of 30,760 square meters of area has been booked as against the 27,390 sq meters last time."

On participation of countries from the neighbourhood, he said, "Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are sending official delegation but not displaying their products."

Replying to a question on offset policy, he said, "The new revised policy is under discussion and very shortly we would be coming up with that."

The Defence Expo offers an opportunity to international Defence industry to promote and showcase their products and services. The exhibition generates attention globally and has carved a niche amongst major defence exhibitions around the world, Aggarwal added.