Shot in the arm for military industries

The Council of Ministers has adopted a series of decisions to promote the Kingdom’s military industries and asked government departments and agencies to purchase their needs from such national firms.
The Cabinet meeting, chaired by Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, approved a new law for regulating the General Organization for Military Industries.
“The governmental military and security bodies shall give priority to GOMI when they intend to purchase their needs of arms, ammunition, equipment, machinery, and vehicles as well as services that fall within the organization's activities,” the Cabinet said.
According to the new law, the GOMI will be an independent organization reporting to the minister of defense.
“The main purpose of GOMI shall be to support the national security by creating sophisticated military industry to meet the needs of all military sectors,” the Cabinet said.
The Cabinet, meanwhile, called on the international community to move quickly to provide protection to the Syrian people and help them defend themselves in the face of the heinous crimes being committed against them by regime forces.
“The Cabinet once again stressed the Kingdom's demand for the immediate commencement of the implementation of the EU decision to lift the ban on arming the Syrian opposition, and the issuance of a clear international decision banning the provision of weapons to the illegitimate Syrian regime,” it said.