India among top 25 countries that export defence products: Rajnath

“Path to Pride” is the theme of DefExpo 2022, scheduled to be held from October 18 to 22 in Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad and Porbandar. “Path to Pride is not just a theme, but a vision of New India,” he said.

“If we want the world to trust our products, then it is essential that we ourselves trust them. Path to pride is part of this continuous process to gain this trust,” he said, while talking about the focus of the expo that will exhibit products of 1,340 companies having operations in India. It will also feature defence ministers from 33 countries.

During the expo, 451 MoUs worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore will be signed, of which 33 MoUs worth Rs 5,500 crore are for projects in Gujarat. At the last DefExpo held at Lucknow, 201 MoUs were signed.

Talking about the defence exports from India, Singh said, “Before 2014, defence exports worth approximately Rs 900-1,300 crore used to happen. Now we are exporting more than Rs 13,000 crore and in first six months of current financial year, we have exported products worth Rs 8,000 crore. By 2024-’25, our target is Rs 35,000 crore.”

Singh also held bilateral meetings with defence ministers of six African countries. “I have already finished bilateral meetings with three defence ministers and I will be meeting three more later today,” said Singh who is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings on October 18 and 19.

Singh will also chair the “2nd India-Africa defence dialogue” on October 18 and “IOR+ Defence Ministers Conclave” on October 19 that is expected to be a closed-door event. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will formally inaugurate the event in October 19.

Defence secretary, Ajay Kumar said, “India and Africa has always been close friends and partners. We are now seeing what are the possibilities of cooperation in defence. We are helping the countries in Africa through our defence industries, we are building their capacities and in partnership with them we are tackling drug trafficking, piracy and hurdles on coastal areas.”

Talking about “Invest for Defence” scheduled on October 20, Kumar said this was the first time such an event is being held with DefExpo. During the event, PM Modi is expected to virtually lay foundation stone for a new Indian Air Force base at Deesa in North Gujarat. The expo will also see indigenously developed trainer aircraft, HTT40 being displayed by HAL.

Earlier in the day, Rajnath Singh released the Gujarati edition of book “Modi@20:Dreams Meet Delivery” at Gandhinagar. The function at a hotel was attended by chief minister Bhupendra Patel and Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairy, Dr L Murugan.

“Modi is only the second leader after Mahatma Gandhi who has known the pulse of our nation while communicating directly with people of the country,” Singh was quoted as saying in an official release from the government.