DTN News: Arab States The World's Top Arms Importer

DTN News: Arab States The World's Top Arms Importer

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) DUBAI, UAE - September 7, 2009: The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have been ranked as the top arms buyers in the world helping the US increase its share to more than 68.4% of all foreign armaments deals during global recession.

The UAE signed $9.7 billion in arms deals and Saudi Arabia signed $8.7 billion in weapons agreements, the New York Times reported on Sunday. (Image: UAEAF F-16E Desert Falcon taking off from the Lockheed Martin plant in Fort Worth, Texas. The United Arab Emirates is the only operator of the F-16E/F.)

According to a new congressional study, Washington signed weapons agreements valued at $37.8 billion in 2008, or 68.4% of all business in the global arms bazaar, up from American sales of $25.4 billion the year before. Italy was a distant second, with $3.7 billion in worldwide weapons sales in 2008, while Russia was third with $3.5 billion in arms sales last year - down from the $10.8 billion in weapons deals signed by Moscow in 2007.

The growth in weapons sales by the US last year was particularly noticeable against worldwide trends.

The value of global arms sales in 2008 was $55.2 billion, a drop of 7.6% from 2007 and the lowest total for international weapons agreements since 2005, the study said.

The United States was the leader not only in arms sales worldwide, but also in sales to nations in the developing world, signing $29.6 billion in weapons agreements with these nations, or 70.1% of all such deals.

The study found that the larger arms deals concluded by the US with developing nations last year included a $6.5 billion air defense system for the UAE, a $2.1 billion jet fighter deal with Morocco and a $2 billion attack helicopter agreement with Taiwan.

Other large weapons agreements were reached between the US and Egypt, Iraq, India, South Korea and Brazil.

The annual report was produced by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, a division of the Library of Congress.