600 exhibitors expected to participate in LIMA '23 - Defence Minister

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 5 (Bernama) -- The Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2023 (LIMA '23), scheduled to take place from May 23 to 27, is expected to see the participation of more than 600 exhibitors, from both local and international defence industry companies.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said 80 per cent of them have expressed their commitment to participate in the exhibition.

He said that LIMA '23 is also expected to attract more than 50,000 delegates from home and abroad.

“I hope LIMA '23 will be as successful as the Defence Services Asia Exhibition (DSA) and National Security Asia (NATSEC ASIA) held last year.

“I call on all parties to work together to make this exhibition a success, which was last held in 2019 before the outbreak of COVID-19 hit the country,” he said when speaking in conjunction with the 2023 Defence Minister's mandate event, at the Wisma Pertahanan Auditorium, here today.

The LIMA exhibition was last organised in 2019 and then postponed due to the country being hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, Mohamad also expressed hope that the National Task Force (NTF), which was disbanded on Dec 31 last year, would be reinstated, as it was seen to play an important role in strengthening and defending national security continuously in the future.

He said the matter was brought up in a recent Cabinet meeting for the government's consideration and action, after the ‘Op Benteng’, under the NTF, achieved success in ensuring security at the national border and curbing the entry of illegal immigrants, thus curbing the spread of COVID-19.

Mohamad said the Defence Ministry (Mindef) and the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) were also committed to continuing the implementation agenda of the Defence White Paper for the period 2021-2030, including the publication of follow-up documents for the national defence and security industry policy, the defence action plan and the national defence investment plan.

He added that the implementation of the Defence White Paper will be supported by the Mindef Strategic Plan 2021-2025.

“In order to ensure the success of this agenda, the cooperation of all Mindef and MAF personnel is essential. Work responsibly to ensure that the ministry's main performance indicators can be achieved this year,” he said.

Also present at the event were Deputy Defence Minister, Adly Zahari; Mindef secretary-general, Datuk Seri Muez Abd Aziz and Chief of Defence Force, Gen Tan Sri Affendi Buang.

-- BERNAMA