RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Military Industries has launched the Kingdom’s pavilion at the 16th edition of the International Defense Exhibition in Abu Dhabi. Inaugurated by the GAMI Gov. Ahmad Al-Ohali, the pavilion is anticipated to further expand and increase outreach after what was a dynamic 2022 for the company, according to a statement. On the opening day of the event, the defense regulator, enabler, and licensor pinpointed and shed light on multiple investment opportunities and prospects worth billions of dollars in an attempt to incentivize and further encourage investors from around the world. This comes as the Kingdom is aiming for localizing half of the defense expenditure by the year 2030. “We have achieved a localization rate of 11.7 percent in 2022, up from just 2 percent in 2018,” Al-Ohali said. “Strategic partnerships with global investors have been a key component of this success, and IDEX 2023 is a great opportunity for us to meet industry leaders who are keen to join us along our journey of localizing more than 50 percent of our defense expenditure by the year 2030,” the governor added. In addition to this, the KSA pavilion will see representation from the Saudi Ministry of Interior, the Saudi Ministry of Investment, as well as 14 private sector defense firms. Moreover, in line with the Saudi Vision 2030, GAMI continues to contribute to the Kingdom’s economic diversification efforts through the numerous strategic programs such as the supply chain localization and the Military Industry Human Capital Strategy – which ranges from manufacturing to education. “We are delighted to be present at IDEX 2023 to showcase our initiatives and our sector’s capabilities to the global defense community, and to empower meaningful and strategic engagement between our KSA pavilion partners amongst key public and private sector entities, and our valued stakeholders and investors from all over the world,” the governor said. IDEX 2023 aims to offer a global platform through which the latest innovations in international defense with regards to advanced technology and equipment are showcased and discussed.