GAMI Launches Military Industries Supply Chain

GAMI’s Governor Ahmad Abdulaziz Al-Ohali - Asharq Al-Awsat
GAMI’s Governor Ahmad Abdulaziz Al-Ohali - Asharq Al-Awsat
TT

GAMI Launches Military Industries Supply Chain

GAMI’s Governor Ahmad Abdulaziz Al-Ohali - Asharq Al-Awsat
GAMI’s Governor Ahmad Abdulaziz Al-Ohali - Asharq Al-Awsat

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI), the regulator, enabler, and licensor of the Kingdom’s military industries sector, has announced the targeted opportunities in Supply Chains in the Military Industries Sector in Saudi Arabia aiming to enhance the Kingdom’s efforts to localize more than 50% of military spending by 2030.

GAMI’s thorough analysis of the local supply chain’s priorities, capabilities, and gaps has identified 74 investment opportunities, across six domains of the military industries sector. The opportunities are open to local and international companies in this sector.

GAMI’s Governor, H.E. Ahmad Abdulaziz Al-Ohali, said the project is key to enhancing Saudi Arabia’s domestic capabilities and strengthening the collaboration between local and international suppliers, resulting in rapid progress toward meeting the localization goals set forth under Vision 2030.

“As GAMI, we have covered a lot of ground in a very short time in terms of localization. With the Supply Chains in the Military Industries Sector and targeted Opportunities our localization efforts will gather even more momentum and strengthen the military industries ecosystem to prove once again the Kingdom’s role in the defense market,” Al-Ohali said.

To enable investors to access localization opportunities, and learn about the industrial capabilities of investors in the sector, GAMI has launched the Military Industry Marketplace (MIM). The MIM is a platform that links the sector with all of the investors that are authorized, licensed (by GAMI), and registered on the platform. All local and international registered companies can easily identify localization opportunities provided by the sector once they have been published on the MIM.

Moreover, linking local companies with international companies, especially Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), also becomes possible. This is due to the MIM being an electronic platform that is updated all the time and accessible via the link marketplace.gami.gov.sa

“Our tireless efforts have shown themselves in numbers, as we have doubled the localization rate in the industry from 4% to 8% in just three years. We have also licensed 99 companies in less than two years to operate in the sector. This enthusiasm and involvement by local companies are what makes us confident in the success of the Supply Chains in the Military Industries Sector and Targeted Opportunities,” said Governor Al-Ohali.



Syria's New Rulers Urge US to Lift Sanctions During Visit to Doha

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, meets Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha, Qatar, January 5, 2025. (SANA/Handout via Reuters)
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, meets Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha, Qatar, January 5, 2025. (SANA/Handout via Reuters)
TT

Syria's New Rulers Urge US to Lift Sanctions During Visit to Doha

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, meets Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha, Qatar, January 5, 2025. (SANA/Handout via Reuters)
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, meets Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha, Qatar, January 5, 2025. (SANA/Handout via Reuters)

Syria's new rulers said on Sunday that US sanctions on Syria were an obstacle to the war-torn country's rapid recovery and urged Washington to lift them during a visit by Syrian officials to Qatar.

"These sanctions constitute a barrier and an obstacle to the rapid recovery and development of the Syrian people who await services and partnerships from other countries," Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani told reporters after meeting with Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who also serves as foreign minister.

"We reiterate our calls for the United States to lift these sanctions, which have now become against the Syrian people rather than what they previously were: imposed sanctions on the Assad regime," he said.

Shibani, on his second foreign trip less than a month after former President Bashar al-Assad was ousted by opposition factions on Dec. 8, said that Qatar will be a partner in the new phase in Syria.

Doha had not normalized ties with Assad over his government's violent response to 2011 protests and backed the opposition instead.

Shibani, who was joined by Syrian Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and Head of Intelligence Anas Khattab, met with other senior Qatari officials including Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Al-Khulaifi, a Qatari official told Reuters earlier.

Shibani presented the Qataris a clear roadmap for the near future in Syria and steps that would be taken by the new Syrian administration, Al-Khulaifi told reporters after the meeting.

"We are working together to prevent any foreign interference in Syrian affairs," Al-Khulaifi added.

Shibani said the roadmap is meant to "rebuild our country, restore its Arab and foreign relations, enable the Syrian people to obtain their civil and basic rights, and present a government that the Syrian people feel it represents them and all their components."

He is expected to also visit the United Arab Emirates and Jordan this week to "support stability, security, economic recovery and build distinguished partnerships," according to his account on X.

Shibani embarked on his first foreign trip to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday where Saudi officials discussed how best to support Syria's political transition.