Balkan countries foster their military industries

Balkan countries foster their military industries

Regional governments recognise the economic potential of increasingly export-oriented domestic firms.

A worker performs quality control of ammunition produced at the UNIS GINEX company in Gorazde. [UNIS GINEX]

Balkan countries are taking measures to support domestic military firms in an effort to improve their economies and develop closer relations with NATO, experts said.

Governments pay more attention to the military industry's economic potential, said Blagoja Markovski, president of the Balkan Security Forum in Skopje.

"It offers extraordinary opportunities to create jobs and help the development of the economy. Individual countries' earnings range from tens of millions to billions of euros," Markovski said.

Officials said the military industry firms are increasingly export-oriented in addition to satisfying the needs of the militaries in their countries.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) armaments manufacturing increased five-fold to 100 million euros in the past three years.

BiH's seven leading defence firms manufacture a variety of military products -- but most commonly infantry and artillery ammunition -- that are sold in 30 countries.

"The presence of some major US companies on the BiH market is of particular importance because it guarantees stability of sales in the next four to five years because long-term contracts [with them]," Hasib Salkic, chairman of the Weapons Industry Group at the BiH Foreign Trade Chamber, told SETimes.

BiH authorities invited US producer Howell Machine Inc. last year, which concluded deals worth 65 million euros with local producers Igman from Konjic and Unis Ginex from Gorazde.

Igman...