Soldiers participate in the closing ceremony of the joint tactical exercise "Arab Gulf Security 3" in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 29, 2022. (Photo by Mohamed Nasr/Xinhua)
RIYADH, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia has inked 2.13 billion U.S. dollars' worth of deals with local and foreign defense companies at the ongoing World Defense Show in Riyadh, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported Monday.
The 22 deals cover direct purchases of military systems, the building of production lines, knowledge transfer and training, and the localization of technologies and services, SPA quoted General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI), the Gulf state's military industry regulator, as saying.
The contracts come in line with Industrial Participation Program, said the report. The program was launched in 2019 with the aim to invest and develop existing local capacities and build new capabilities in the targeted industrial segments, according to GAMI's website.
A helicopter is seen during the closing ceremony of the joint tactical exercise "Arab Gulf Security 3" in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 29, 2022. (Photo by Mohamed Nasr/Xinhua)
Saudi Arabia planned to develop and manufacture more weapons and military systems domestically, aiming to spend 50 percent of the military budget on localization efforts by 2030. ■
