As the Uttar Pradesh capital geared up for Defence Expo starting on Wednesday, the fear of the deadly new coronavirus led the administration to drop out the Chinese delegation after India temporarily suspended e-visa facility for travellers from the virus-hit country.
Not just DefExpo-2020, but the upcoming Auto Expo in Delhi might also not see any participation by Chinese firms due to scare of the deadly virus.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the five-day biennial mega defence exhibition on Wednesday.
After the inaugural ceremony, Modi will visit the India and UP pavilions. A live demonstration of Indian defence is also scheduled.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Modi is expected to reach Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport at Amausi here at around 10 am and from there he will fly close to the Defence Expo venue by a helicopter and then take the road to reach it.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh arrived in the state capital for a curtain-raiser event at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan on Tuesday.
The Defence Expo, which starts on Wednesday, will be attended by defence ministers from across the world. Leaders of around 40 countries, including Czech Republic, Mexico, United Arab Emirates and South Korea among others, have confirmed their participation, Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar said, “It will probably be for the first time that an India-Africa Defence Conclave will be held during the Defence Expo.”.
Apart from this, live demonstrations of Armed Forces, DPSUs and industry showcasing land, naval, air and internal security systems could be witnessed during the Expo, which will conclude on February 9.