Serbia exporting weapons to Iraq with help of Americans

‘Jugoimport SDPR’ signed contract worth 100 million Dollars
Serbia exporting weapons to Iraq with help of Americans
Author: Tanja Nikolić-Đaković | 28.08.2009 - 10:16
Serbia exporting weapons to Iraq with help of Americans





At the initiative of the Ministry of defense, the ‘Jugoimport SDPR’ company yesterday signed a contract for export of weapons and army equipment to Iraq worth USD 100 millions.

As ‘Blic’ learns there are ongoing talks over enlargement of the arrangement. The talks on contracting of Serbian construction companies in renewal of several military bases and hospitals shall also be continued. In this deal with Iraq Serbia had help from an ally in shadow. The coalition forces led by the USA gave green light that Iraqi Ministry of defense concludes the deal with Serbia.
‘This contract means job for all of six Serbian factories of military industry employing about 6,000 people’, Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac said.
The contract with Iraq is the largest export arrangement that Serbia concluded in this year. According to our information several other contracts are expected to be concluded until the end of the year what would make it better than the last one that was record-high.
But the real pace is yet to come and our sources from the Ministry of defense announce deals in the markets of Libya, Algeria, Egypt and countries of the Central Africa.
‘It is more than obvious that the deal with Iraq was supported by a very influential shadow ally’, ‘Blic’ source close to the negotiating team says. The coalition forces led by the USA gave consent for the deal with Serbia. Such arrangement, having in mind the situation in Iraq, is regulated by one rule only – no deal can be concluded without consent by the coalition forces in that country. This means that Serbia has very important support by the US for that deal. Thanks to that support Serbia made a record-high export of weapons and military equipment last year worth EUR 400 millions (EUR 236 millions with Iraq). The export planned for this year amounts to over EUR 500 millions.