Even while heavily engaged in conflicts on multiple fronts, the region’s governments have continued to reduce their defence spending over the past year; 2017 was the second consecutive year of falls across the region, despite the drive to push Islamic State (IS or Daesh) out of Iraq and Syria, Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) powers’ involvement in the conflicts in Libya, Syria and Yemen, diplomatic tensions centred on Qatar and Iran, and a series of large orders for military equipment placed by Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE among others.
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