Defense fair kicks off in UAE amid rising demand in Mideast

An international defense fair kicked off here on Sunday amid growing global demands for military hardware due to flaring turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa.

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, United Arab Emirates (UAE) vice president, prime minister and ruler of Dubai, as well as Abu Dhabi crown prince and UAE defense minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan inaugurated the five-day international defense exhibition and conference (IDEX).

A total of 1,200 global and regional firms from 55 countries participate at this year's IDEX to boost their market share in the region.

According to the London-based think tank international institute for strategic studies, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and Oman, four major Gulf Arab nations, spent in 2014 approximately 110 billion U.S. dollars in defense-related items, a 44 percent year-on-year increase.

The growth in military expenditure came as many Arab nations, including the UAE, are involved in a U.S.-led coation to fight against the Islamic state (IS) militant group that controls a large part of territories in Iraq and Syria. Saudi Arabia alone spends 30 percent of its budget on defense matters.

In the Middle East and North Africa, the global share of money spent for military hardware rose by 66 percent last year compared to 2010, which marked the beginning of the Arab turmoil in some Arab countries, according to the international institute for strategic studies.

On the other hand, the U.S. military spending amounts to 38 percent of the world's total, declining from 47 percent in 2010.

Also on Sunday, the UAE vice president also met with Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir, president of Sudan, on the sidelines of the defense fair, state news agency WAM reported.

The two sides exchanged their views on bilateral relations and the IDEX's role in establishing the foundations of peace and security in the region, WAM reported. Endit