The Ministry of Defense confirmed its continued endeavor to provide the Iraqi army with the latest weapons and equipment that contribute to developing the army's combat and defensive capabilities. Defense Minister Thabet Al-Abbasi, the Prime Minister's representative, said during the official opening of the activities of the Iraqi Security, Defense and Military Industries Exhibition, 'the twelfth session,' today, Saturday, on the grounds of the Baghdad International Fair, under the slogan, 'With our unity we have triumphed...to build is our direction.' We hope that this session, like previous sessions, will contribute to pushing forward of arming and equipping our armed forces.' He explained, "The previous sessions had a major role in developing the military arsenal of the military establishment in Iraq, and today we celebrate the opening of the 12th session of the Security, Defense, and Military Industries Exhibition to confirm our continued endeavor to provide the Iraqi army with the latest weapons and eq uipment that contribute to developing the combat and defensive capabilities of the army. We also confirm our endeavor to establish a new phase that will be an extension of the previous stages of building and developing the capabilities of the Iraqi Armed Forces.' He added, "Establishing such exhibitions on Iraqi soil will contribute greatly to informing us of the latest products of companies specialized in manufacturing weapons, equipment, and military technology, and this will give greater freedom in choosing what is compatible with the plans prepared to develop the military system," noting that "the Ministry of Defense has made the development of its capabilities at the forefront of its priorities and we have prepared advance plans to do so, to match the capabilities of arming the armies of the region and the world, especially with regard to possessing technology.' The Minister of Defense stressed, 'We encourage investment inside Iraq to support the national economy, and we also encourage the wheel of nat ional military industries, which we hope will improve for the better.' He went on to say, 'The use of advanced devices and modern weapons has a major role in achieving security and stability, and this is what the Ministry of Defense and the current government are working on, and it is also the main goal that our heroic forces seek to achieve,' pointing out that 'providing security is the basic element in the construction process, because it opens horizons towards investment and reconstruction, and also pushes the wheel of the economy towards the better, and therefore the government has made the slogan of investment and construction at the top of its priorities Source: National Iraqi News Agency