Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has signed an agreement with NIMR, a UAE-based manufacturer of combat-proven military vehicles, to supply armoured vehicles to the Gulf kingdom.
The partnership agreement was signed at IDEX 2021 in Abu Dhabi by Faris Khalaf Al Mazrouei, chairman of the NIMR board and Walid Abukhaled, CEO of SAMI.
Under the partnership, SAMI and NIMR, the manufacturer of the JAIS 4×4 MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicle, will work together exclusively to produce the armoured vehicles locally in Saudi Arabia.
Although completely built units will initially be produced in the UAE by NIMR, the agreement stipulates the transfer of production and technology to the kingdom and will develop its supply chain capabilities to enable the two companies to jointly manufacture all the JAIS vehicles that will be provided to the kingdom in the future.
Abukhaled said: “With a strong emphasis on the transfer of technology and the creation of employment opportunities for Saudi talents in SAMI’s industry partnerships, we have been working towards contributing to the Saudi Vision 2030 objective of localising over 50 percent of the military equipment spending by 2030.
“The new agreement with NIMR represents a major leap forward in our efforts to build a flourishing military industries sector in the kingdom… We are pleased that the first-of-its-kind partnership between the two companies marks the beginning of a new era of collaboration in the military sector between the brotherly states of Saudi Arabia and the UAE.”
Faisal Al Bannai, CEO and managing director of EDGE, the parent company of NIMR, said: “This agreement represents the first military collaboration between Saudi Arabia and the UAE and is a major step in boosting the already robust relations between our respective nations.”
With the new collaboration, SAMI said it will lead to the creation of new jobs and the transfer of several new technologies in line with the Vision 2030 objectives in the sector.