JORDAN: Arms trade weakened by economic turmoil

Record ID: 405262

  • Title: JORDAN: Arms trade weakened by economic turmoil
  • Date: 13th May 2010
  • Summary: COMMANDOS BEING AIR DROPPED VARIOUS OF TRAINING MAN CHECKING HELICOPTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAMES MARMENT, DIRECTOR OF SECURITY LIMITED SAYING: "Maybe you've not seen any significant contracts announced here today, but that doesn't mean there are not things moving along behind. I think what you see in most countries, whether its European or American or Middle Eastern
  • Embargoed: 28th May 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Jordan
  • Country: Jordan
  • Topics: Economic News,Defence / Military
  • Reuters ID: LVA862CWE8YDV5EDIBTTS95YEMZR
  • Story Text: King Abdullah of Jordan on Tuesday (May 11) inaugurated the eighth edition of the Special Operations Forces Exhibition (SOFEX) 2010 in Amman, attracting dozens of arms manufacturers who hope to strike lucrative contracts with countries from around the Middle East.
    Around 350 exhibitors from leading arms companies from the US, Britain, France, Spain, Germany and other parts of the world are taking part in the three day event.
    Politicians and military leaders from across the Middle East also arrived for a first hand look at the latest technologies in the field of defence, homeland security and counter-terrorism.
    But the arms exhibition came against the backdrop of a difficult world-wide economic situation that has largely hindered defence spending in many countries.
    James Marment, director of Security Limited and one of the organisers of SOFEX, said many traditional customers from the Middle East, particularly the gulf region, have not been rushing to strike deals.
    "Maybe you haven't seen any significant contracts announced here today, but that does not mean there aren't things moving along behind. I think what you see in most countries, whether its European or American or Middle Eastern countries, you may see some projects moving off to the right until the financial situation becomes better."
    With Islamist militancy still prevalent in Yemen, Somalia and Iraq, manufacturers are offering innovative technologies to protect key oil and gas fields and fight cross border infiltration, according to observers.
    Tim Johnson, assistant director of the Middle East and Pakistan division at the UK defence and security organisation, said companies are no longer concentrating on catering for armed forces as they move to help other agencies in fulfilling their security missions.
    "New areas that we are targeting is more homeland security, so that might be moving away from the armed forces slightly and providing solutions to ministries of interior, organisations that are responsible for critical national infrastructure protection, police forces, coast guards and things like that and border agencies that protect against the illegal movement of people and goods across borders."
    Arms dealers say many countries, even the oil rich gulf states, shelved plans to buy new weapons as they wait to see the full impact of the global economic crisis, recently back in the spotlight with Greece's economy needing a record bailout from the European Union.
    "Purchase contracts have been delayed and buying plans have changed. Strategic plans in certain countries have changed and the focus is more on economic safety more than defence contracts and defence equipment," said Faisal Ben Humeid, an arms dealer from Saudi Arabia.
    But Humeid expects arms deals to pick up in the near future amid growing political tension between the West and Iran, as well as the Middle East conflict.
    "I expect there will be more defence contracts in the Middle East, particularly with the current situation in the gulf and in Palestine and problems with Israel. The situation remains prone to have more sales in the future."
    Despite the absence of major deals, the event offers and opportunity for defence industry executives to network and showcase the latest products technology has to offer.
    Total arms sales for the top 100 weapons suppliers reached 325 billion U.S. dollars in 2008, an increase of 39 billion dollars from 2007. Experts at SOFEX said they expect arms sales to top the half a trillion dollar figure in the coming two years.
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