ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain said on Tuesday that Pakistan is producing state of the art defence products, which have also been exported to friendly countries, according to a report on Radio Pakistan.

The president was speaking at a seminar on public-private partnership in production and export of defence equipment.

“There is need to enhance defence production capabilities for economic stability of the country,” said the president.

He also added that public-private partnership in defence production will usher in a new era in the progress of this industry.

The president was also of the opinion that better marketing policies need to be developed in order to enhance export of Pakistani defence products to international clients, said the report.

“The defence industry could be further strengthened and its exports enhanced by engaging the private sector in an effective manner. The government should encourage private sector for this purpose,” stated President Mamnoon.

He also stated that the country has yet not been able to exploit its true potential in defence related exports due to weak marketing, law and order and problems being faced by the region.

Last year, defence hardware worth $1.5bn was produced locally, Pakistan Aeronautical Complex at Kamra, which manufactures JF-17 Thunder fighter jet, Mushak and Super Mushak aircraft produced equipment worth a billion dollars last year.

Supplies worth another $500 million came from other production facilities catering for the Army and the Navy. These included the Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT) and the Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF).

The Taxila complex builds Al Khalid and Al Zarrar tanks along with armoured personnel carriers, while POF produces small arms and medium-sized weapon systems for the armed forces. Another major contributor has been the Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works.

Despite the progress made by the local defence industry in meeting the needs of the armed forces, the defence industry has not achieved much success in finding buyers for its products in the international market.

Officials are hopeful of some deals materialising in the near future, including one for sale of JF-17 Thunder jets.