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GAMI Highlights Saudi Arabia’s Military Spending Growth at Global Conference

Saudi Arabia’s military spending has soared over the past decades, reaching $75.8 billion in 2024, reported the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

In the light of this, the Governor of the Saudi General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI), Ahmad Abdulaziz Al-Ohali, said that this has placed the Kingdom in the 5th position worldwide and 1st in the Arab world, in terms of military spending.

Increasing Military Spending

During his participation in the Global Strategies in Defense and Aerospace Industry Conference in Antalya, Türkiye, Al-Ohali noted that Saudi Arabia’s military spending reached $75.8 billion in 2024, marking 3.1% of the global military spending, which amount to $2.44 trillion.

Moreover, the GAMI Governor said that the Kingdom has allocated $78 billion for the military sector in the 2025 budget, accounting for 21% of Saudi Arabia’s total government spending and 7.1% of its GDP.

GAMI Highlights Saudi Arabia’s Military Spending Growth at Global Conference

The 25th edition of the Global Strategies in Defense and Aerospace Industry Conference is organized by the Defense and Aerospace Industry Exporters’ Association (SSI) and the Turkish Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB). It saw the participation of Professor Haluk Gorgun, President of the Defense Industry Agency, in addition to CEOs and business development managers from major industrial and defense companies from across the world.

Military Industries Localization

Speaking at the conference, Al-Ohaili said that military industries localization rate in Saudi Arabia has seen steady increase, amounting to 19.35% by the end of 2023. This steady progress aligns with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, which aims for a prosperous, diversified and sustainable economy driven by industry and innovation, Al-Ohaili noted.

GAMI Highlights Saudi Arabia’s Military Spending Growth at Global Conference

He added that Vision 2030 also aims to reduce reliance on oil revenues, raise the private sector’s contribution in the Saudi economy from 40% to 65%, and increase the non-oil GDP from 16% to 50%.

Saudi Arabia seeks to achieve its strategic goal of localizing 50% of its military spending by 2030.

Attractive Investment Environment

Al-Ohaili highlighted the attractive and sustainable investment environment of the Kingdom’s military industries sector. This includes streamlining the investor’s journey, as well as providing investment opportunities, enablers, incentives and legislative frameworks.

To this end, GAMI implemented policies and regulations to promote the growth of the military industries sector. These include introducing governance; regulations related to military activities; control and monitoring policies for exports and imports; standards and quality policies; intellectual property policies; and industrial participation policies.

GAMI Highlights Saudi Arabia’s Military Spending Growth at Global Conference

In the light of this, the GAMI Governor invited military industries stakeholders to capitalize on the vast opportunities present in Saudi Arabia. He noted that financial incentives and support cover major companies as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the military industries sector, locally and internationally.

Furthermore, Al-Ohaili pointed to GAMI’s continued efforts, in collaboration with its partners, to enable beneficiary government entities and companies involved in the military industries sector. This collaboration aims to support localization efforts, in order to boost the growth and prosperity of the Saudi economy.

Available Opportunities

Concluding his speech, the GAMI Governor highlighted the availability of 74 supply chain opportunities within the military industries sector, according to a comprehensive study of the Saudi market. Moreover, the study identified 30 priority opportunities, representing nearly 80% of future expenditures on the supply chain.

GAMI collaborates with relevant government entities in an integrated manner, by developing incentive packages for investors in the military industries sector. These packages include framework agreements, financial support incentives such as zero value-added tax, and other incentives that enable the sector to realize the localization objectives.

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