Armenia and the UAE have announced a significant deepening of defence cooperation, following a meeting between Armenian Defence Minister Suren Papikyan and the UAE’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in Dubai.
According to Armenia’s Defence Ministry, the meeting on Monday centred on expanding bilateral military ties, with both sides declaring readiness to sign a formal defence cooperation agreement. The document, once concluded, is expected to outline priority sectors for collaboration, institutionalise regular consultations, and potentially pave the way for joint projects in defence technology, training, and capability development.
The presentation of an agreement framework suggests that Yerevan is looking to institutionalise ties with Gulf defence partners at a moment when Armenia is rapidly diversifying its security relationships.
The move comes against the backdrop of a dramatic realignment in Armenia’s defence procurement strategy since 2022. For nearly three decades, Russia was the country’s dominant — practically exclusive — supplier of major weapons systems and partner in security and strategy. That dependence, however, frayed after the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War and deepened further following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which severely limited Moscow’s ability to fulfil arms contracts.
In recent months, Armenian officials have increasingly spoken openly about shifting away from Russia. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan recently told parliament that until 2022, ‘only one country — Russia — was willing to sell weapons to Armenia’, while others refused out of concern that Yerevan might use the equipment ‘beyond its internationally recognised borders.’
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‘After 6 October 2022, the situation changed’,Pashinyan said, referring to the Prague summit where Armenia and Azerbaijan reaffirmed recognition of each other’s territorial integrity. According to him, this move opened doors for countries previously hesitant to supply arms to Armenia.
Since then, Yerevan has signed several high-profile defence agreements, including multimillion-dollar contracts with India for artillery systems, anti-drone technology, and multiple-launch rocket systems. Armenia has also expanded cooperation with France, purchasing air-defence systems and entering talks on radar and surveillance platforms.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
This article was translated into Georgian and republished by our partner On.ge.
