Spain's Hopes for Selling Warships to Saudi Arabia

The official visit of Felipe VI, the King of Spain, to Riyadh is taking place at the invitation of King Salman of Saudi Arabia. Spanish media have described one of the main objectives of this trip as concluding long-standing negotiations for the sale of military ships to Saudi Arabia. The Navantia shipbuilding company has been negotiating with high-ranking officials in Saudi Arabia for some time to construct five Avante 2200 corvettes for the country. This type of military ship is mainly used for maritime patrols, tracking smuggling of goods and drugs, and protecting the territorial waters of countries. A spokesperson for this state-owned company has told Agence France-Presse that negotiations have reached the final stages. The value of this contract is two billion euros and, if finalized, could lead to long-term job creation for at least 2,000 people in Spain. However, according to Agence France-Presse, the potential sale of military ships to Saudi Arabia has faced sharp criticism from human rights organizations and other European entities. Amnesty International and some other international organizations have called this deal illegal, stating that Saudi Arabia has committed war crimes in the Yemeni civil war. These organizations consider the bombing of schools and hospitals by the Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen as an example of this illegal behavior. The Arms Trade Treaty, which was implemented by a UN resolution in 2013, prohibits the sale of any weapons that may be used in the killing of civilians. Agence France-Presse, referring to the very close and long-standing friendship between Juan Carlos, the former King of Spain, and King Fahd, the former King of Saudi Arabia, reported that the main goal of this three-day visit is to utilize the close relations of the two royal families to finalize this contract. Six years ago, Juan Carlos was able to finalize a seven billion dollar contract for the construction of the high-speed railway line between Mecca and Medina by using his influence. Spain, with nearly 19% unemployment, is still facing severe economic recession, and its government is trying to boost economic growth by increasing arms and military equipment exports. Between 2014 and 2015, Spain was the fourth largest arms exporter to Saudi Arabia after the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. According to the Peace and Security Research Group in Brussels, Spain's arms exports grew by 55% between 2011 and 2015 compared to the previous similar period. Spain is the seventh largest exporter of arms and military equipment in the world, and Saudi Arabia is the largest arms importer globally. Saudi Arabia's arms and military equipment imports were nine billion and three hundred million dollars in 2015.