Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited Karachi to witness various stalls at IDEAS 2022 at Karachi Expo Centre on Wednesday, the military said in a statement. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army chief also interacted with a cross-section of visitors and delegates and held separate meetings with various visiting delegates including Bahrain, Italy, Sri Lanka, Libya, Zimbabwe and UAE. Later, the COAS visited Malir garrison where he laid a floral wreath at the Martyrs’ Monument. During his farewell address to officers and troops, Gen Bajwa lauded their professionalism and devotion to duty. He also praised the troops for their untiring rescue and relief efforts to assist the people during recent heavy floods. Earlier on arrival, the army chief was received by Corps Commander Lieutenant General Muhammad Saeed. IDEAS is a mega-regional event biennially organised by DEPO. Since its inception in 2000, IDEAS has emerged as an international rendezvous for defence manufacturers, entrepreneurs, R&D specialists, financial experts, and top-level policymakers for defence collaboration. However, the event this year has surpassed all previous milestones in terms of space, booking, exhibitors and delegates both domestic and foreign. Karachi Expo Centre has been booked to its capacity with more than 500 exhibitors from Turkey, China, North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Far East. Besides trade visitors, more than 285 high-level delegates from 64 countries are visiting the exhibition. The exhibition will continue till tomorrow (Friday) and 300 exhibitors from 32 countries are displaying their latest and innovative products, whereas over 500 national and international delegates are taking part in the exhibition.