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Oshkosh Defense Delivered 7,000 Military Vehicles in the Region

Saudi Arabia’s World Defense Show is witnessing wide international participation. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Arabia’s World Defense Show is witnessing wide international participation. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Oshkosh Defense Delivered 7,000 Military Vehicles in the Region

Saudi Arabia’s World Defense Show is witnessing wide international participation. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Arabia’s World Defense Show is witnessing wide international participation. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

John Lazar, vice president and general manager of international programs at US-based Oshkosh Defense, underlined the company’s commitment to localizing Saudi Arabia’s defense and security industries, noting that the Kingdom constituted an attractive investment environment for the transfer of technologies and industries in the sector.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Lazar pointed to agreements concluded by Oshkosh Defense to implement a number of Saudi programs in accordance with Vision 2030, in terms of knowledge transfer and localization of industries.

“The Kingdom has hosted our regional office since 1991, and we are ready to cooperate with the Saudi government in providing its needs for the defense sector equipment industries, just as we do with the US government,” Lazar said, emphasizing that the defense industry presented attractive investment opportunities with high economic returns.

His comments came on the sidelines of the World Defense Show, which is being held in Riyadh from March 6 - 9.

Oshkosh Defense is looking to strengthen its partnerships in the region through its presence in the Kingdom, Lazar said, revealing that the past years have witnessed the delivery of more than 7,500 military vehicles in the region, including a large number of vehicles to customers in Saudi Arabia.

The company will display its 4-door Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) at the exhibition, he said, highlighting Saudi Arabia’s position as an attractive market for global investments in the defense industries sector.

Moreover, Lazar noted that Oshkosh would also be participating in the World Defense Show’s Customer Experience Demonstration Program, which allows the company to provide demonstration rides in the JLTV to select military and security services.

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IMF: Middle East Conflict Escalation Could Have Significant Economic Consequences

Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
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IMF: Middle East Conflict Escalation Could Have Significant Economic Consequences

Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki

The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday that an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East could have significant economic ramifications for the region and the global economy, but commodity prices remain below the highs of the past year.

IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack told a regular news briefing that the Fund is closely monitoring the situation in southern Lebanon with "grave concern" and offered condolences for the loss of life.

"The potential for further escalation of the conflict heightens risks and uncertainty and could have significant economic ramifications for the region and beyond," Kozack said.

According to Reuters, she said it was too early to predict specific impacts on the global economy, but noted that economies in the region have already suffered greatly, especially in Gaza, where the civilian population "faces dire socioeconomic conditions, a humanitarian crisis and insufficient aid deliveries.

The IMF estimates that Gaza's GDP declined 86% in the first half of 2024, Kozack said, while the West Bank's first-half GDP likely declined 25%, with prospects of a further deterioration.

Israel's GDP contracted by about 20% in the fourth quarter of 2023 after the conflict began, and the country has seen only a partial recovery in the first half of 2024, she added.
The IMF will update its economic projections for all countries and the global economy later in October when the global lender and World Bank hold their fall meetings in Washington.
"In Lebanon, the recent intensification of the conflict is exacerbating the country's already fragile macroeconomic and social situation," Kozack said, referring to Israel's airstrikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon.
"The conflict has inflicted a heavy human toll on the country, and it has damaged physical infrastructure."
The main channels for the conflict to impact the global economy have been through higher commodity prices, including oil and grains, as well as increased shipping costs, as vessels avoid potential missile attacks by Yemen's Houthis on vessels in the Red Sea, Kozack said. But commodity prices are currently lower than their peaks in the past year.
"I just emphasize once again that we're closely monitoring the situation, and this is a situation of great concern and very high uncertainty," she added.
Lebanon in 2022 reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF on a potential loan program, but there has been insufficient progress on required reforms, Kozack said.
"We are prepared to engage with Lebanon on a possible financing program when the situation is appropriate to do so, but it would necessitate that the actions can be taken and decisive policy measures can be taken," Kozack added. "We are currently supporting Lebanon through capacity development assistance and other areas where possible."