International arms sales to developing countries declined steeply last year,
reaching the lowest level in eight years, as those nations cut arms purchases because of the global economic slowdown, The New York Times reports. On the whole, global arms sales, including weapons deals in developed and developing nations, also dropped significantly last year, to the lowest total since 1997, the newspaper reports.
Even in the current economic turmoil, the United States remains the world's leading weapons supplier, followed by Russia, whose sales to Iran continue to be an issue of great concern to American officials, according to The New York Times.
Israel was the largest arms buyer last year among developing nations, although experts say the sales were part of long-term procurement plans rather than a response to specific developments in the the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
This information is contained in the study, called "Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1994-2001", which was published this week by the Congressional Research Service, an arm of the Library of Congress.
According to the report, the total value of all arms transfer deals worldwide, agreements for weapons signed by developed and developing nations, was nearly $26.4bn last year, a significant drop from slightly more than $40bn in 2000, the newspaper reports. Purchase agreements with developing countries accounted for 60 percent of global arms sales last year.
The United States ranked first in arms transfer agreements with the developing world in 2001, signing almost $7bn, or 43.6 percent, of all contracts. Russia was second, with $5.7bn, or 29.6 percent, and China was third, with $600m, or 3.8 percent, the report says.