Media Brief of Pakistan International Maritime Exhibition and Conference (PIMEC) was held at Karachi Expo Centre on Thursday. Commander Karachi Rear Admiral Mian Zakirullah Jan alongwith additional secretary Ministry of Maritime Affairs (MOMA) Asad Rafi Chandna briefed media regarding PIMEC, says a press release. The maiden edition of Pakistan International Maritime Exhibition and Conference will be held from 10 – 12 Feb 2023 at Karachi Expo Center. 133 exhibitors including 21 international firms and 112 local firms/ international organizations are participating in the exhibition. In addition 37 x international delegations from 17 countries including Bahrain, KSA, Qatar, Oman, Turkiye, UK, Italy, Germany, Portugal, USA, Colombia, Sri Lanka Malaysia, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Mauritius, Madagascar, Seychelles and Kazakhstan will also attend the event. Another highlight of the event is active participation of Sindh and Baluchistan Governments which has established exclusive pavilions aimed at promoting investment in the maritime sector. PIMEC will include maritime exhibition, business to business (B2B) and business to Govt (B2B) meetings, signing of MoUs and media interactions. The main objectives of PIMEC are to highlight Pakistan’s potential for blue economy, provide opportunities to maritime Industry both in Public & Private sectors to display products at one forum. This will also provide a platform for interaction with international maritime industry for joint ventures, transfer of technology and research to provide importance to Pakistan’s Maritime and Defence industries. In parallel, the PIMEC’s conference part i.e. International Maritime Conference – 2023 spearheaded by National Institute of Maritime Affairs, has also been organized on the theme ‘Embracing Blue Economy – Challenges and Opportunities for Developing Countries’. The IMC, thematically distributed under 4 Sessions, will cover 27 papers by national and international speakers of repute. Pakistan International Maritime Exhibition and Conference is being conducted in tandem with Multinational Exercise AMAN-23 which will provide an opportunity to over 122 delegates from 50 participating navies to witness this event. This will also increase opportunities for local exhibitors to interact with international attendees of visiting Navies from across the globe. Maritime sector is the heart of global trade and economy, existing value of global ocean economy is about US $1.5 Tn per year which is expected to be doubled in size by the year 2030. It can therefore be construed that prosperity of a nation and economic growth are to a greater extent facilitated by maritime sector. Pakistan Navy therefore, in coordination with MoMA, took initiative of bringing national and international maritime stackholders to enhance maritime awareness and bring to fore the largely untapped maritime sector of Pakistan. It is believed that PN – MoMA joint initiative of holding first Pakistan International Maritime Exhibition and Conference will not only bolster Blue Economy but also become the harbinger of socio-economic development of the coastal belt of Pakistan.