Qatar has strong military ties with its international partners.

Qatar and Oman are set to cooperate militarily after signing a number of agreements in Doha.

The deals were signed by Qatari Armed Forces Chief of Staff Air Marshal Salim Hamad Aqeel Al Nabit and the Sultan’s Armed Forces’ Vice Admiral Abdullah Khamis Al Raisi following a meeting in the Qatari capital.

During the signing ceremony, attended by Senior Sultan Armed Forces officers and Qatari Armed Forces officers, the two sides also discussed means of improving military cooperation to expand on their shared objectives.

No further information was provided on the agreements.

Qatar’s military sector

Qatar recently ranked as the Gulf region’s second top military spender and the 20th globally, per the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s latest annual report.

Qatar spent $15.4 billion last year and came second place in the region after Saudi Arabia, which spent $75 billion and ranked the fifth biggest spender out of 40 countries.

Qatar also ranked the top third out of 10 countries in terms of the highest military spending as a share of its gross domestic product (GDP), of which it spent 7%. Saudi Arabia came second with a 7.4% spending, as Ukraine spent 34% of its GDP as it continues to face an ongoing war with Russia.

Aircrafts, air defence systems, armoured vehicles, missiles, naval weapons, sensors and ships were among the items Qatar purchased last year.

Qatar bought 36 combat aircrafts from France, 36 from the United States, eight from the United Kingdom, as well as three frigates from Italy, according to SIPRI.

The top ten arm importers globally in the previous five years were India, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Australia, China, Egypt, South Korea, Pakistan, Japan and the US.

Meanwhile, in its 2021 report, SIPRI revealed that Qatar’s military spending reached $11.6 billion, which made it one of the top spenders in the Arab world.