Defexpo India-2008 arms exhibition opens in New Delhi

13:17 | 16/ 02/ 2008

NEW DELHI, February 16 (RIA Novosti) – The International Defexpo
India-2008 arms exhibition and conference opened on Saturday in the
capital of India, New Delhi.

The exhibition, running through February 19, comprises 475 military and
technical companies from 30 countries, with Russia being one of the
largest representatives among them.

Russian Ambassador to India Vyacheslav Trubnikov, who attended the
opening ceremony, said that the exhibition is a unique possibility for
Russia to broaden its military and technical cooperation with India.

"It is important that the exhibition opened in the wake of Russian
Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov’s official visit to India," Trubnikov
said.

The Russian prime minister was on an official visit to India this week
from February 11 to 13.

Russia’s state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport showcases at the
exhibition advanced Kalashnikov AK-101, AK-102 (5.56 mm), AK-103 and
AK-104 (7.62 mm) assault rifles, the AN-94 Abakan machine-gun, the
Bizon-20-1 (9 mm) pistol, the OSV-96 sniper rifle, and night vision
devices.

Russia also intends to demonstrate its maintenance and upgrading
capabilities for small and light weapons, presenting its specialist
training programs and reliability as a supplier of weapons and
components, as well as its after sales service.

The Defexpo India exhibition was conceptualized in 1998 to promote
defense exports from India and exhibit the capabilities of Indian
defense R&D and production. The exhibition, which began in 1999 with
197 exhibitors, has now grown into one of the most recognized
international defense exhibitions in the world.

International seminars, especially the India Defense Industry Summit,
held as part of the exhibition have evolved into the biannual
International Defense Industry Forum.