Arms race in the Middle East gobbles up nearly half of all US exports

Arms imports in the Middle East grew by 25 percent between 2011–15 and 2016–20, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute(SIPRI) report published on Monday.

But overall, and for the first time since 2001–2005, the volume of major arms transfers between countries did not rise from the previous five year period, SIPRI said.

Although deliveries of arms stayed at the same level between 2016-2020 compared to the five years before that, there was a substantial increase of arms imports for Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar.

While the pandemic has slowed and shrunken economies across the world pushing many nations into recession, SIPRI said it was too early to tell whether the slowdown in arms deliveries was likely to continue.

“The economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic could see some countries reassessing their arms imports in the coming years,” Pieter Wezeman, senior researcher with the SIPRI Arms and Military Expenditure Programme, said in a statement.

“However, at the same time, even at the height of the pandemic in 2020, several countries signed large contracts for major arms.”

Growing arms demand by the Middle East countries

Regional strategic rivalry among several countries in the Gulf region has led to the observed increase, according to the report.

As the world’s largest arms importer, Saudi Arabia’s imports rose by 61 percent. The Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out military operations in Yemen since 2015 and has been locked in a regional tussle with Iran for influence over the Middle East.

Qatar, which for years was under a blockade by a Saudi-led coalition, has also spent considerably on its military in the last five years. Qatar increased its arms imports by 361 percent in 2016-2020 compared to the previous five year period.

The political crisis between Qatar and other Gulf states came to a resolution in January 2021 as land, air and maritime borders were opened for the first time since 2017.

When it comes to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), its arms imports fell by 37 percent, however, the UAE is expected to continue to import large volumes of arms such as 50 F-35 combat aircraft that were agreed for delivery in 2020 from the US. 

Another major increase of arms imports was made by Egypt, this time at 136 percent. 

According to SIPRI, “Egypt, which is involved in disputes with Turkey over hydrocarbon resources in the eastern Mediterranean, has invested heavily in its naval forces.”

Thanks to a greater increase in domestic defence production, Turkey reduced its dependence on arms imports by 59 percent between 2011–15 and 2016–20.

The US, France and Germany continue to increase arms export

The United States, France and Germany - three of the world’s biggest exporters - made more deliveries, SIPRI said.

The US “remains the largest arms exporter” in the world by increasing its share of global arms exports from 32 to 37 percent in 2016-2020, compared to 2011-15.

In the last five years, 96 states from all over the world imported American weapons at a rate “far more than any other supplier.” Almost half, 47 percent to be exact, went to the Middle East. 

The US increased its exports by 15 percent between 2011–15 and 2016–20. This widened the gap between it and the second largest arms exporter, Russia. 

France increased its arms exports by 44 percent thanks to its biggest customers, India, Egypt and Qatar. 

Germany also saw an increase in exports by 21 percent - it accounted for 5.5 per cent of the global total.

Both Russia and China saw decreases in their arms exports which fell by 22 percent and 7.8 percent respectively.

Russia and China, the world’s second and fifth biggest arms suppliers, both saw their arms exports fall. 

For Russia, “the bulk—around 90 per cent—of this decrease was attributable to a 53 per cent fall in its arms exports to India.”