RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Military Industries will lead the Kingdom’s pavilion at the 16th edition of the International Defense Exhibition in Abu Dhabi, where it will showcase potential investment opportunities in the sector. Saudi Arabia’s showcase at IDEX 2023 – held from Feb. 20-24 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center – will help build new partnerships as the Kingdom expands its global footprint in the defense industry, according to a press release. During the exhibition, the Saudi delegation will present global investors with a unique opportunity to connect with officials from the Saudi Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Investment, the World Defense Show, and the 14 private sector entities that operate in the sector in the Kingdom. “After an active 2022 that took us to London, Dubai and Washington DC to meet with global investors, we are happy to kick off the new year here at IDEX 2023,” said GAMI in a statement. The authority added: “Saudi Arabia is home to one of the most rapidly developing defense sectors in the world and we are keen to develop partnerships and promote international investment to continue to advance toward our goal of localizing more than 50 percent of defense expenditure by the year 2030.” GAMI is playing a crucial role in facilitating an attractive business climate for companies to come and operate in the Kingdom. The authority’s ambition to localize more than 50 percent of Saudi Arabia’s defense expenditure has led to a supply chain localization program identifying more than 70 investment opportunities across six domains within the Kingdom worth billions of dollars, the press release added. GAMI has confirmed the second edition of the World Defense Show will be held on Feb. 4 to 8, 2024, with an aim to provide a platform to exchange knowledge and technology for local and international firms. The first edition of WDS, which was conducted in Riyadh in 2022, attracted 600 exhibitors and over 100 military delegations from 42 participating countries, as well as more than 65,000 visits overall.