Arms exports to Riyadh increase by 162 percent

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

This file photo shows ‘Kirpi’ model armored military vehicles, one of Turkey’s leading export items, which are produced by local BMC firm. DHA photo

Saudi Arabia is the leading importer of Turkey’s industrial defense exports as one-fourth of Turkey’s total exports in this sector went to Saudi Arabia in 2011, according to the Industrial Defense Exporters Union. Turkey exported 108 million Turkish Liras worth of industrial defense exports to Saudi Arabia in 2011, up from 41 million liras in 2010, which translates to a whopping 162 percent increase.

Following Saudi Arabia, 78 percent of Turkey’s industrial defense exports in 2011 went to the United Arab Emirates, United States, Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Lebanon and Italy.
Exports to Turkmenistan stood out as year over year exports jumped from only $65,000 in 2010 to $13.9 million in 2011, registering a 21,000 percent increase, according to the Anatolia news agency.

The most popular export items were tanks and armored vehicles, which witnessed a 52.4 percent increase from 2010 to 2011, reaching a total of $78.9 million.