Lockheed Martin announced on Wednesday that it would hold its 7th edition of the annual India Suppliers Conference and Exhibition in the last week of July 2020. Themed ‘Making India part of the Global Supply Chain’, the 5-day conference will be the firstof-its-kind to be held virtually. Organised by the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM), the 2020 India Suppliers Conference is co-hosted with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Lockheed Martin to strengthen the supplier ecosystem in India. The conference and exhibition will be held in a virtual-only format on ‘CII HIVE’ platform this year in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It will anchor conversations around partnership opportunities that fuel ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ Abhiyaan, strengthen India-U.S. defence industrial strategic ties, particularly ‘Make-in-India’ partnerships into the future.
Commenting on the conference, William L. Blair, Vice President and Chief Executive, Lockheed Martin India said, “We are excited to host the annual Indian Suppliers Conference and Exhibition for the seventh year running and facilitate meaningful discussions and interactions between current and prospective defense and aerospace industry partners in India.For over three decades, Lockheed Martin has been a committed member of the Indian aerospace and defense industry. We continue to contribute to industry and look forward to further strengthening the foundations of the defense ecosystem and support the vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.”
The key highlights of the conference and exhibition will include four elements. (1) Presentation by Lockheed Martin businesses and their partners. (2) Capability Presentations by Indian Industry / Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). (3) Virtual B2B meetings with Supply Chain team of Lockheed Martin. (4) Virtual exhibition area for Indian MSMEs to showcase their company. Lockheed Martin continues to build upon its more than three-decades of partnership with India, nurture and expand collaborations with local industry to support the evolution of indigenous defence manufacturing ecosystem, and further advance India’s strategic security and industrial capabilities.
The conference will provide an opportunity to the Indian Industry to understand and interact with all of Lockheed Martin businesses along with their partners who are looking to source from India. It will be attended by representatives from Indian Ministry of Defence, US government, Indian and global industry leaders and participation from industry.
The last two conferences were attended by close to 300 delegates and saw participation from around 120 companies of all sizes — large, MSMEs and startups.
