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| Arabia |
| Arms manufacturers eye billion dollar Mideast deals |
| 2011-02-19 |
| [Arab News] Global arms manufacturers will vie for deals worth billions of dollars at the Middle East's largest military expo as unrest sweeping across the region pushes countries to beef up security. The International Defense Exhibition & Conference (IDEX) opens on Sunday in the capital of the United Arab Emirates with some 1,060 companies participating including Lockheed Martin Corp., Boeing Co., Dassault Aviation and Italy's FinMakkahnica. At the last IDEX in 2009 more than 900 firms showcased their wares when the UAE, the biggest Gulf Arab spender there, announced deals worth 18.5 billion dirhams ($5 billion). The UAE is in the final stages of negotiating arms deals worth billions of dollars, said Maj. Gen. Obaid Al-Ketbi, front man for IDEX. "Most of the large projects are in the final tuning stage. We hope the amount will be within the range of last time's deals," he said. Heightened security concerns due to turmoil in the Arab world and escalating tensions between the West and Iran could see wealthy oil-producing Gulf states ramp up their defense spending. Crowds have taken to the streets in Libya, Yemen, Iran and Bahrain in recent days, inspired by popular revolts in Tunisia and Egypt that saw veteran leaders of both countries driven out of office. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 (a) Exactly how multi-billion packages of advanced military equipment help dealing with civic unrest? (b)Shouldn't MME regimes be buying food instead of arms? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2011-02-19 04:07 |