Curtains come down on DefExpo, UP minister terms it 'historic'

As the curtains came down on the five-day DefExpo on Sunday, Uttar Pradesh Industries minister Satish Mahana termed it historic and said it will pose a challenge to future organisers.

DefExpo-2020 was held at the Uttar Pradesh capital city from February 5-8 with the theme 'India: The Emerging Defence Manufacturing Hub'.

"This DefExpo can be termed historic in many ways. It is for the first time that in the country, more than 200 MoUs and other pacts were signed in an expo," Mahana said.

"This figure will pose a challenge to organisers of future Defence Expos. In the 2018, Defence Expo held in Chennai, 40 MoUs were signed. Definitely, Lucknow has drawn a longer line for others," he said.

The minister said after the formation of the Yogi Adityanath government in the state, the Uttar Pradesh government had expressed desire of hosting a Defence Expo (which was held in Chennai).

"But, the then Defence minister Manohar Parikar said no stating that Uttar Pradesh does not have basic infrastructure for an event like Defence Expo," he added.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday described DefExpo-2020 as an unprecedented success which not only witnessed participation of a large number of exhibitors but also forged new partnerships and attracted more than 12 lakh visitors.

Speaking at the valedictory ceremony on the fourth day of DefExpo 2020 here on Saturday, Singh had said Uttar Pradesh stands for 'Unlimited Potential' and DefExpo has succeeded in projecting a new identity of the state in the defence sector and the defence corridor received a huge boost for attracting new investments with the signing of 23 MoUs.

On Saturday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had said his government had organised many international events during the last few years such as Prayagraj Kumbh Mela, UP Investors' summit and Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas and the successful organisation of DefExpo enhanced the image of the state.

Describing DefExpo as "Defence Kumbh", he said the event witnessed presence of more than 3,000 foreign delegates, 10,000 Indian delegates and 12 lakh visitors and laid a strong foundation for development of UP Defence corridor.

In this DefExpo, 1,024 exhibitors participated, 172 of them being foreign companies. Forty Defence ministers were part of total 70 foreign delegations that visited Lucknow.