UAE, Saudi Companies to Jointly Build Armoured Vehicles

Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has signed a Teaming Agreement with NIMR, a UAE-based leading manufacturer of light- and medium-weight military vehicles, for the supply and production of armoured vehicles.

The partnership agreement was signed at IDEX 2021 in Abu Dhabi by His Excellency Staff Major General Pilot Faris Khalaf Al Mazrouei, Chairman of the NIMR Board and Eng. Walid Abukhaled, CEO of SAMI.

Under the partnership, SAMI and NIMR, the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of JAIS 4x4 MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicles, 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 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.

Eng. Walid Abukhaled, CEO of SAMI, commented: “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 localizing over 50% of the military equipment spending by 2030.

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"The new agreement with NIMR represents a major leap forward in our efforts to build a flourishing military industries sector in the Kingdom.

"This achievement also supports PIF’s efforts through SAMI in localizing cutting-edge technology and knowledge, as well as building strategic economic partnerships.

"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.”

Speaking on the occasion, His Excellency Faisal Al Bannai, CEO and Managing Director of EDGE, said: “Fostering strategic relationships is a key pillar of EDGE’s strategy, and we look forward to building on this commitment with our colleagues at SAMI.

"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.”

The signing saw the first agreement between Saudi and Emirati companies to cooperate in the Kingdom’s military industries sector.

With the new collaboration, SAMI will be able to provide the Saudi military forces with a state-of-the-art armoured vehicle that has been thoroughly tested and evaluated by military experts in the Kingdom.

This will also lead to the creation of new jobs and the transfer of several new technologies in line with the Vision 2030 objectives in the sector.

JAIS is the next generation of MRAP vehicles, providing essential balance between firepower and survivability, but with mobility for modern, conventional and asymmetric operations.

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