Saudi Arabia Military Industry

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) will oversee a tenfold increase in the localization of the kingdom’s military procurement by 2030. 

In February 2021, the governor of GAMI shared that the Saudi Arabia Government (SAG) will invest over $20 billion in its military industry in the next decade.  Half of this amount will be dedicated to the general defense industry and the other half to research and development (R&D). Furthermore, the Kingdom plans to increase military R&D spending from 0.2% to around 4% of armaments expenditure by 2030. 

GAMI has developed and issued its Industrial Participation Program (IPP), which ensures that all military organizations prioritize localization policies in supplier contracts. To this end, GAMI, in partnership with Original Equipment Manufacturers, has committed to develop the Kingdom’s defense sector by securing the transfer of technology and development to local manufactures and by building local capabilities and talent. GAMI has also partnered with various Saudi Universities to support its military R&D Initiatives and to develop its human capital potential in this area.  

On the other hand, the Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), signed several JVs and cooperation agreements with a variety of international companies in 2020 and the first quarter of 2021 that did not follow these new policies.

World Defense Show in Saudi Arabia: 
The World Defense Show (WDS), founded by Saudi Arabia’s GAMI and SAMI, is scheduled to be held on March 6-9, 2022 in Riyadh. WDS will be a major platform to showcase investment and trade opportunities for foreign companies interested in the Saudi Arabian defense sector.  

Visit the website to learn more about how this event will contribute to the future of defense.: https://www.worlddefenseshow.com/ 

For more information, please contact Ahmed Khayyat, Senior Commercial Specialist at Ahmed.Khayyat@trade.gov and Khalid Khan, Commercial Specialist at Khalid.Khan@trade.gov