Middle East regimes importing more weapons

This video says about itself:

Canadian Weapons En Route To Saudi Arabia

8 January 2016

The Canadian government is supplying weapons to the government of Saudi Arabia during a time when Saudi human rights are at an all time low.

Translated from Dutch NOS TV today:

The Middle East is playing an increasingly larger role in the global arms trade. In the past decade, the sale of arms in the region has doubled: 32 cents of every euro spent on arms worldwide comes from that region, the Swedish peace institute SIPRI has calculated.

Saudi Arabia is after India the biggest arms importer in the world, driven by the conflict in Yemen and tensions with Qatar. On spot three is Egypt … The United Arab Emirates are also a major player, according to Dutch researcher Pieter Wezeman of SIPRI.

“It indicates that countries … are prepared to use military resources as a key component to ensure their safety, rather than more peaceful means of negotiation and diplomacy”, says Wezeman. …

The weapons in the region are mainly from the US, but also European countries such as Great Britain, France, Germany and to a lesser extent the Netherlands contribute. Arms exporters such as Russia and China are less popular in the Middle East.

Wezeman also sees budgets grow again in Europe.

From the Jerusalem Post in Israel today:

Saudi Arabia is on a massive arms-buying spree, according to a new report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). In the last five years, the country increased its arms purchases by 225% compared to the previous five-year period, importing 98% of its weapons from the US and European Union states. In the same period, Israel increased its exports of arms by 55%, the report said. …

Along with Israel, South Korea and Turkey have also increased their exports in recent years.

The Middle East is sponging up weapons, with imports growing 103% in the last five years, compared to 2008-2012. The region accounts for 32% of global arms imports, even though the region accounts for only around 5% of the world’s population. The United Arab Emirates have joined Saudi Arabia in buying heavily in the last five years, as have Qatar and Egypt, all of which have increased their imports. The Saudis have taken delivery of 78 combat aircraft, 72 combat helicopters, 328 tanks and 4,000 vehicles, the report notes. Qatar signed major details for 84 combat aircraft from the US, UK and France. It ordered an additional 12 such aircraft from France in 2017.