UNI,
Washington: According to a US government study, India and China have emerged as the biggest buyers of military weapons worldwide. The United States dominated the market as the biggest seller by signing deals worth 12.4 billion dollars in 2004 – that is 33.5 per cent of the value of all deals worldwide – but down from 15.1 billion dollars in 2003.
China has bought more than any other developing nation over the past four years, signing 10.4 billion dollars in deals.
For that same four-year period, India was the second-biggest buyer, with 7.9 billion dollars in purchases, and Egypt third, signing 6.5 billion dollars in deals.
India surpassed China in total purchases last year, agreeing to buy 5.7 billion dollars in arms. So did Saudi Arabia, behind India, with contracts valued at 2.9 billion dollars.
China was third, signing 2.2 billion dollars in contracts, according to the Congressional Research Service, (CRS) a division of the US Library of Congress.
The share of US arms contracts with developing nations was 6.9 billion dollars in 2004, or 31.6 per cent of all such deals, up slightly from 2003's 6.5 billion dollars.
Russia was second, with 6.1 billion dollars in agreements, or 16.5 per cent of all such contracts, a big increase from its 4.4 billion dollars in deals in 2003.
