International Exhibition Of Armaments And Military Equipment, MILEX 2003, opens in Minsk

The 2nd Exhibition of Armaments and Military Equipment, MILEX 2003, has opened in Minsk.

More than 130 leading enterprises of the defence industry are taking part in this exhibition. They have presented over 2,000 displays.

Apart from that, delegates from fifty-two countries have been invited to the exhibition in the capacity of observers and guests. First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Sergei Sidorsky spoke about it at the opening ceremony.

The organising committee has reported that among the main exhibitors are the leading Russian defence enterprises, including those which produce the latest samples of armaments and military equipment in close cooperation with Belarussian manufacturers.

Vladimir Paleshchuk, the head of the Russian delegation and deputy chairman of the committee of the Russian Federation for military and technological cooperation with foreign countries, said that Russia and Belarus would never be rivals on the armaments market. "Belarus and Russia are real partners. The path which we are following is the most promising," continued Vladimir Paleshchuk.

He also said that a joint Belarussian-Russian commission on military and technological cooperation would convene soon to consider the whole range of bilateral contacts.

Vladimir Paleshchuk pointed out that the Russian side appreciated its participation in the MILEX 2003 and believed that it must become traditional and occupy a worthy place in international exhibitions of this kind.