Rabat – The kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) has announced the launch of state-owned arms manufacturing company, Saudi Arabian Military Industries, or SAMI.
In a statement released on Wednesday, PIF explained that initially, SAMI will “manufacture products and provide services across four business units: Air Systems, Land Systems, Weapons and Missiles (including ammunitions); and Defense Electronics.” As well, the company will “repair fixed-wing aircrafts” and “manufacture and repair unmanned air vehicles.”
SAMI also made some ambitious promises regarding job creation in the kingdom. Estimates cite 40,000 or more jobs will come into play, primarily in the sectors of technology and engineering. A further 30,000 indirect positions will be needed and PIF is predicting the creation of hundreds of small-medium sized peripheral companies.
Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was quoted by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) saying “While the Kingdom is one of the world’s top five spenders on security and defense overall, only around two percent of our military procurement is domestic.”
The creation of SAMI is part of Saudi Arabia’s 2030 Vision, the kingdom’s strategy for reducing its economic dependence on oil and creating a more diverse economy all around. In their statement PIF pledged that the company “aims to become one of the world’s top 25 defense companies by 2030.”
Promising “to ensure the company is aligned with the latest developments in the military industries sector,” SAMI is projected to contribute in excess of $3.7 billion to Saudi Arabia’s GDP. It also has plans to invest 6 billion riyals in military research to keep it on the leading edge of the industry’s technology.
With US President Donald Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia imminent, the kingdom’s reinforced commitment to regional security is bound to come as welcome news to the US delegation.
