GAMI Meets Industrial Partners To Ensure Sector's Effectiveness And Review Initiatives And Facilities During COVID-19 Pandemic And Beyond [07 May 2020]

GAMI has organized a virtual workshop aimed at enhancing communication with its partners. The Authority affirmed its intention to localize 50% of the Kingdom's expenditure on military equipment and services by 2030 through developing industries, facilitating research and technologies, developing national capacities, enhancing exports, and providing incentives to local manufacturers by setting policies, strategies, and regulations related to the Defense Sector and monitoring their implementation, as well as establishing procedures for issuing licenses, seeking to diversify the national economy by accelerating the development of non-oil revenues, and for the Sector's direct contribution to the GDP by 2030.

The services, initiatives, and facilities provided by the Authority to local manufacturers were reviewed, as well as the mechanism for issuing licenses and permits for industries and military services. Also, the suite of initiatives and facilities, which aims to support the efforts undertaken by the Kingdom in the economic challenges presented by COVID-19, was announced recently by GAMI. Additionally, GAMI has aimed to ensure the functioning of companies operating in the Sector during this current pandemic, as well as discussing various proposals during and beyond COVID-19. All of this was reported during the virtual workshop organized by the Authority today, Thursday, in the presence of several national companies operating in military industries to enhance communication with the Authority's key partners.

Military Industry Sector Deputy Governor Gasem al-Maimani stated that the workshop had been a welcome opportunity to address several objectives, with the local manufacturers in the Sector in general, as this workshop comes within the framework of the Authority’s efforts aimed at sharing its main plans with its partners seeking to develop the sector, contribute to diversify the national economy and achieve the objectives of Vision2030.

The Authority seeks to create a motivational working environment, as it has been able - since its establishment - to license 25 national companies operating in military industries that will significantly contribute to supporting the Sector's activities in the Kingdom.

“GAMI has also developed a special portal to receive requests for issuance of licenses in the field of military manufacturing and military services provision, and trade in military products or services, which will enable local manufacturers to develop military industries, research, and security technology in the Kingdom,” he added.

It is noteworthy to mention that GAMI organized, earlier this week, a virtual workshop on R&T with its partners amongst relevant entities in the Kingdom, and there was a discussion on the developments and on building national capacity by strengthening the national ecosystem for research, development and innovation in the Sector.

It should also be noted that the virtual workshop was attended by over 100 representatives from 41 national companies operating in military industries, and the Authority shall organize a number of other workshops, aimed at meeting operators, investors and interested parties in the Sector to contribute to output.