Saudi Arabia aims to export arms soon, says SAMI

Saudi Arabia aims to be an arms exporting country, Arab News reported, citing Walid Abukhaled, the newly appointed Chief Strategy Officer for strategy and business development at Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI).

He said that SAMI wants to become one of the top 25 military companies by 2030 and is looking to fulfill the large domestic demand for military equipment.

“The opportunity to localize military equipment at all stages — from manufacturing, maintenance and support — is promising. We’re keen to design and build equipment inside the Kingdom with local minds and manpower,” Abukhaled said.

“However, the shortage of experience and manpower is one of the obstacles that can be overcome. I see it as an opportunity to attract the youth in the Kingdom to the defense industry,” he added.

Abukhaled said that SAMI is working on initiatives with the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) to ensure the industry has the right atmosphere for companies to operate.

“The supply chain of military companies is a major initiative to support the infrastructure of the industry. We’re working with GAMI to have that in place to ensure that big companies can work smoothly,” he noted.

Commenting on future plans, Abukhaled said that SAMI is planning to be a global source of defense equipment.

“The Saudi defense budget is one of the largest in the world and demand for the Kingdom’s equipment is very high. We will satisfy the demand at home and with our allies in the Gulf Cooperation Council before we export to the world,” he said.

Abukhaled also highlighted that the Kingdom needs to introduce defense and aerospace education for new generations.