Press Release
Contact: Thalif Deen, Middle East Analyst
Phone: (718) 667-3984
Web site: www.forecast1.com
E-mail: thalifdeen@aol.com
Forecast International, Inc.
22 Commerce Rd. Newtown, CT 06470 USA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Annual Military Spending in Middle East
Projected to Rise to $55 Billion
NEWTOWN, Conn. (November 20, 2003) – The growing insurgency
in Iraq, the continued terrorist attacks on Saudi Arabia and the three-year-old
Palestinian uprising in the West Bank and Gaza are expected to trigger a rise
in military spending in the Middle East, according to a new Middle East Market
Analysis released by Forecast International.
The overall defense expenditure for the region is estimated
at about $55 billion annually by 2007, rising from about $52 billion in 2003.
This is almost double the total spending predicted for the Latin American
region.
The big spenders in the Middle East include Saudi Arabia
averaging more than $18 billion in defense spending annually through 2007,
followed by Israel at over $9 billion, Iran about $4.5 billion, the United Arab
Emirates about $3.7 billion and Egypt over $3.0 billion, according to the
report.
"The Middle East, which is one of the world's largest
single regional arms buyers, will continue to dominate the market,"
according to Thalif Deen, Forecast International's senior analyst for Middle
East/Africa.
The installation of a U.S.-backed civilian administration in
Iraq and the removal of U.N. military sanctions on Libya will also bring two
new buyers into the international arms market, said Deen. Both countries will
be entering the Western arms market after more than a decade of U.N. military
sanctions.
The U.S.-run Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad has
announced plans for the creation of new 40,000-strong American-trained army and
a 15,000-strong civil defense force in Iraq.
An international conference of donors in Madrid in late
October pledged over $13 billion in loans, outright grants and export credits
to help rebuild the political, economic and military infrastructure in Iraq. Additionally,
the U.S. Congress has authorized about $87 billion for the reconstruction and
continued military occupation of Afghanistan and mostly Iraq.
Both Israel and Egypt, two countries depending heavily on
U.S. military aid, will continue to utilize their outright grants for arms
purchases. U.S. grants to Israel will rise to $2.2 billion in 2004, up from an
average of $1.9 billion, while Egypt will continue to receive $1.3 billion in
American military grants annually.
Since the September 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S.,
Washington has also agreed to sell additional weapons to countries such as
Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain, reciprocating their
willingness to cooperate in the American-led global war on terrorism.
The rise in military spending is also attributed to
increased expenditures on internal security prompted by potential terrorist
attacks on soft targets in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, U.S. weapons sales to the Middle East which
declined to $3.7 billion in 2003, down from $5.2 billion in 2002, are expected
to rise to over $5.0 billion each in 2004 and 2005. But the increased arms
sales, however, are predicated on a stable oil market in the Middle East.
The FI market analysis also provides an overview of
political, economic and military trends in the region, along with a breakdown
of country-by-country procurement plans.
Forecast International, Inc. is a
leading provider of Market Intelligence and Analyses in the areas of aerospace,
defense, power systems and military electronics. Based in Newtown, CT, USA,
Forecast International specializes in long-range industry forecasts and
innovative marketing presentations, including regular 10-year forecasts. To
arrange an interview with one of Forecast International's analysts, please
contact Monty Nebinger (203-426-0800, monty.nebinger@forecast1.com).
