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NEW DELHI: The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a defence think tank has mentioned that even though the total volume has declined by 11%, India still remains the biggest importer in terms of arms and ammunition across the world.
Based out of Stockholm, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute mentioned that India’s arms imports declined by 11% between 2013-17 and 2018-22 on Monday. The report mentioned that the decrease in imports has been linked to the complex procurement process, the replacement of imported products by locally produced items and by attempts to diversify the arms suppliers.
According to its report, the largest arms importers of the world in the 2018-22 session are India, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Australia and China. Pakistan is the 8th name in the list from the top and has seen a 14% increase in the same time duration. China is the main exporter when it comes to Pakistan.
In terms of arms exports, the United States remain at the top of the list. It is followed by Russia, France, China and Germany. France has seen the highest growth of about 44% in the 2018-22 session compared to 2013-17. Most of these resources are procured to countries in Asia, Oceania and the Middle East. India is one of the importers of French-made arms as it displaced the United States from the second position. Russia remains to be the top destination for the Indian military.
"This seems likely to continue as by the end of 2022, France had far more outstanding orders for arms exports than Russia," mentioned a researcher with SIPRI.
The report also highlighted a decline in the export trends for Russia following the Russia-Ukraine war which has lasted more than a year now. This has helped the United Nations to increase its share in the export markets. Strategic competition remains to be the main reason for arms procurement in Asian and Middle Eastern countries.
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