JEDDAH — Saudi Arabia's strategy to localize military industries offers a breadth of opportunities to global investors as well as US defense partners, said Ahmad Al Ohali, governor of the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI), during a webinar on Wednesday. The development of the military industry sector requires a whole ecosystem of research and technology institutions, a skilled workforce and other support functions in addition to local production capabilities, Al Ohali noted. Organized by the GAMI in collaboration with the US-Saudi Arabian Business Council (USSBC), the webinar titled "Understanding Saudi Arabia's Military Industries Sector Growth Strategy" saw the participation of a number of representatives from US companies. Established in 2007 to boost the Kingdom's military industries sector, GAMI is responsible for the sector's development and empowerment in line with the Vision 2030 target of localizing more than 50 percent of defense expenditures by 2030. Moderating the debate, USSBC president and CEO H. Delano Roosevelt recalled the long history of cooperation between the United States and Saudi Arabia and hoped that the US would continue to play a dominant role in supporting the Kingdom through future strategic relationships. He added that the USSBC will also continue its roles of facilitating connections between American and Saudi companies and educating US businesses about the benefit of engaging in the Saudi market.
