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World’s Top Arms Importer
Saudi Arabia has become the world’s biggest importer of weapons and defensive systems, overtaking the previous record holder, India, according to a new report which examined the arms trade across 65 countries last year.
Data revealed by the IHS Jane 360 in its Global Defence Trade Report, shows that Saudi Arabia spent over $6.4 billion on defense purchases in 2014, dislodging India from top spot. India’s spending stood at $5.57 billion, placing it second.
The Kingdom boosted its arms imports by 54 percent over the past year. Together with its Persian Gulf neighbor, United Arab Emirates, both countries imported $8.6 billion of weapons – more than the whole of western Europe combined.
China has now become the third largest importer, up from fifth place earlier. “China continues to require military aerospace assistance from Russia and its total defense procurement budget will continue to rise very quickly,” said Paul Burton, director of defense industry and budgets at IHS.
The biggest “beneficiary of the strong Middle Eastern market” is the United States, with $8.4 billion worth of Middle Eastern exports in 2014, compared to $6 billion in 2013, said the report. Other countries that top the list of arms suppliers to the Middle East include the United Kingdom with $1.9 billion, Russia with $1.5 billion, France with $1.3 billion and Germany with $1 billion.
Unsurprisingly, the US still tops the list of global arms exports with $23.7 billion worth of equipment and 19 percent growth, supplying one-third of all exports. It is followed by Russia with $10 billion and 9 percent increase. The report however predicts that because of Western sanctions, Russia’s strong performance could see a slowdown in 2015.
“A drop-off in [Russia’s] exports is forecast for 2015 as major programs draw to a close, a trend that could be accelerated by sanctions,” it said. “Furthermore, falls in the oil price are set to have a devastating impact on some lead Russian clients who are vulnerable to low oil prices, such as Venezuela and Iran.
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