STOCKHOLM: Arms sales have not picked up in a decade due to the Corona epidemic, with India topping the list of major arms buyers in the region.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a global arms watchdog, has released a report from 2016 to 2020 stating that for the first time since 2001-05, the world’s arms trade There was no increase in sales.
This is because although arms sales to the three largest arms sellers, the United States, France, and Germany, increased, arms exports to Russia and China declined, which did not reduce overall arms sales. This has happened 10 years later, but it is difficult to say whether this trend will continue.
The report added that Asia and Oceania are the regions that import the most 42% of the world’s arms, with India topping the list, followed by Australia, China, South Korea, and Pakistan.
The coronavirus has damaged the global economy and many countries may reconsider arms purchases in the coming years, but even during the height of the corona epidemic, several countries made major arms deals, including the United Arab Emirates, which the United States Signed a 23 billion deal to buy 50 F-35 fighter jets and 18 armed drones. Similarly, Saudi Arabia did not lag behind with its arms imports increasing by 61% while Qatar’s imports increased by 361%.
China accounts for 5.2% of the world’s arms trade, while Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Algeria are major buyers of Chinese arms.
