Pakistan’s state-owned defence firm Global Industrial & Defence Solutions (GIDS) is participating at EDEX 2021 to showcase its defence products and highlight the potential in Pakistan defence sector in multifaceted domains.

“The kind of interaction that EDEX offers is very unique. My message to the Egyptian authorities is to get closer to a country like Pakistan as the Pakistan defence industry offers enormous scope and is open to all possibilities. Also, we never forget our friends’ rights in terms of capacity building, knowledge sharing and the final product. In short, we are ready to work wherever the customer may find the scope of business or collaboration,” Asad Kamal, CEO – Global Industrial & Defence Solutions (GIDS) tells GBP Show Daily in an exclusive interview;

How important is EDEX for Pakistan and Global Industrial and Defence Solutions?

Global Industrial & Defence Solutions (GIDS) is Pakistan’s leading state-owned defence conglomerate operating under the patronage of Joint Staff Headquarters and dealing in the export of defence & technological products / services. This is going to be our 2nd participation at EDEX, the event holds a great deal of significance for us as Egypt is one of the potential market for our products and services. Expos always play an important role as far as direct interaction with the potential clients is concerned. Moreover, close engagement with the Egyptian authorities is very important to materialize the requirements during this event. Additionally, African delegations visiting the event would be equally beneficial for GIDS to pursue our business endeavors in the region. GIDS will be focusing aerial systems, UAVs and security items during EDEX-2021 in particular. It is anticipated that this participation will yield benefits for us in the longer run.

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi recently asserted Cairo’s aspiration to develop bilateral cooperation with Pakistan. What is GIDS aiming to get from this cooperation?

GIDS, as part of our business policy, is open for all sorts of collaborative ventures with friendly countries and any such interest sighted from the Egyptian side will surely be focused on. Pakistan and Egypt have held strong diplomatic ties since many years, and it is anticipated that the defence cooperation will play a vital role in taking this bond to further heights.

Pakistan is investing significantly in UAVs. Over the past few years,
we have seen extensive developments in this domain. How is Global
Industrial and Defence Solutions contributing to this effort?

GIDS is Pakistan’s largest state-owned designer and manufacturer of UAVs. In the backdrop of 30 years of research, hard work and persistent efforts, GIDS has been able to offer a diverse portfolio of Unmanned Systems from small hand-launched & VTOLs to MALE class tactical & armed UAVs. This success story is surely attributed to the diligence of the technical experts and patronage of our top echelon. Today, we are able to offer state of the art capabilities in UAV domain, coupled with training and after sales support for our clients.

What is your take on technological collaboration?
And what is GIDS doing on this front being a defence supplier?

I am sure you will agree that the century we live in is all about collaboration and learning from each other to minimize the learning curve. I feel that countries can join hands in areas of mutual interest to explore better business opportunities After the onset of this century, many second-world countries with big defence budgets have sought to localize their defence industry to reduce dependency on foreign sources. New companies were formed that sought joint ventures with major foreign OEMs to kick start the home grown defence industry through TOPs and TOTs. We are currently engaged with different international industry partners on some crucial projects which we foresee getting materialized in the near future.

Earlier this year, the company unveiled the Shahpar II MALE UAV. Could
you please throw some light on this system?

Shahpar-II is a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) armed unmanned system. It has a modular airframe structural design compromising of advanced composite and metallic hybrid structure with improved aerodynamic design. The salient features of Shahpar-II UAV include its endurance of 14 Hrs (surveillance), 07 Hrs (Armed); ceiling of 20,000 ft (surveillance), 18,000 ft (Armed) with max speed of 120 knots.

What are the products you are highlighting at EDEX?

GIDS is planning to focus on its UAV portfolio at the event. Our Shahpar-II Armed UAV is being unveiled at EDEX-2021 for the first time alongside LGB and AGM BURQ. EDEX-2021 has been chosen as a platform to unveil these high-end systems to the world in an extravagant manner. This biennial event provides a good platform to defence and security equipment manufacturers from the region and all over the globe to interact and introduce their products.

Could you please throw some light on your ongoing programs and projects in the MENA region in general and Egypt in particular?

Over the last decade, our Aerial Systems, ATGMs, UAVs and Security / Riot control items have been top selling products and have been exported to over 10 countries. Our recent initiatives have created new opportunities for products like Smart Weapons & Unmanned Aerial Vehicles; such vehicles have become one of our most sought-after products in the African & South Asian regions. Meanwhile, GIDS has also been engaged with renowned industry partners from the Gulf region on different collaboration & joint venture projects. We are aiming to target the prevailing technological collaboration opportunities in the Egyptian Defence industry (particularly in the UAV domain) for establishing long relations.

Are you looking at any local partners in Egypt to co-develop defence
equipment?

I believe EDEX-2021 is a great opportunity for the international and Egyptian defence industry because there is a lot of potential in Pakistan defence sector in multifaceted domains. The kind of interaction that EDEX offers is very unique. My message to the Egyptian authorities is to get closer to a country like Pakistan as the Pakistan defence industry offers enormous scope and is open to all possibilities. Also, we never forget our friends’ rights in terms of capacity building, knowledge sharing and the final product. In short, we are ready to work wherever the customer may find the scope of business or collaboration.

What is your vision as CEO of the company? What are GIDS business plans for the year 2022 and beyond?

Being the CEO, I believe competition is an opportunity for growth. I’d research what others are doing and find a way to do it better. My job is to ensure that everyone understands the company’s vision for growth from top – down.

Improvement in internal processes, customer satisfaction and an aggressive approach to sales have been inculcated into the system and is backed up by a robust strategy to achieve gains. The business dynamics of our industry are entirely different from the rest, but the basic principles of sales remain the same – reach out to customers, understand what they really want, deliver solutions on time, and back-up your team to get the job done.

Perseverance is the key to success. By the grace of Almighty, we have been able to position GIDS as a quality and reliable defence supplier in the international market. Ever since our establishment in the year 2007, our business footprint has been endorsed from the Middle East to South America and from Central Asian states to African region (through repeat sales). This hallmark of success is attributed to the dedicated efforts of my team and patronage of the top echelon.