Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Sipri, has released a report on arms imports in the past five years, revealing that the Middle East has witnessed the greatest growth in arms imports.
The “Sibri” report indicates that the import of weapons in the countries of the Middle East increased by 25% between the year 2016 and 2020, compared to between 2011 and 2015.
The growth reflected regional strategic competition between a number of Gulf states, with arms imports in Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest arms importer, by 61%, and in Qatar by 361%.
In contrast, the UAE’s arms imports fell by 37%, but several planned arms deliveries, including 50 F-35 combat aircraft from the US, were approved in 2020, indicating that the UAE will continue. In the import of large quantities of weapons.
Egypt’s arms imports increased by 136% between 2016 and 2020, compared to 2011-2015. Egypt, which is witnessing disputes with Turkey over hydrocarbon resources in the eastern Mediterranean, has invested heavily in its naval forces, according to Sibri.
As for Turkey, its arms imports decreased by 59% between 2016 and 2020, as the main factor for the decrease was the United States halting delivery of F-35 fighter jets to the country in 2019, after Turkey imported Russian air defense systems. Turkey is also working to increase domestic production of weapons, to reduce its dependence on imports.
Find out in the above infographic about the percentage change in the volume of arms imports to Arab countries in 2016-2020 compared to between 2011 and 2015:
