RIYADH: Following four trade days that brought together 600 defense and security exhibitors from 42 countries, World Defense Show concluded its first edition today recording SR29.7 billion in deals. Founded by the General Authority for Military Industries — GAMI — the show received 80 military delegations, 65,000 visits and representation from 85 countries from east to west, the authority said in a statement. Ahmad Al-Ohali, Governor of GAMI said: “The networking, knowledge sharing and commercial relationships established through the World Defense Show platform will spur a new era of investment and growth for Saudi Arabia’s defense and security industry bringing us closer to achieving our target of localizing more than 50 percent of the Kingdom’s military expenditure by 2030.” “We thank all exhibitors, visitors and partners for being part of this promising journey and we look forward to bolstering ties with them in the coming period, while we prepare for the show’s second edition set to take place between 3rd and 6th of March 2024,” Al-Ohali added. As the regulator, enabler and licensor of Saudi Arabia’s defense sector, GAMI worked with partners to review contracts announced at the show.