MOSCOW, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Russia's state-owned arms supplier Rosoboronexport believes that sub-Saharan African countries represent a prospective market for its products, the company's CEO Alexander Mikheyev was quoted as saying Wednesday.
The market for weapons and military hardware in the region has been growing due to a number of objective factors, including the proliferation of international terrorism, Islamic radicalism, and the remaining threat of maritime piracy, TASS news agency quoted Mikheyev as saying.
"Alongside this, different contingents from the region's countries take an active part in peacekeeping operations under the aegis of the United Nations and the African Union," Mikheyev said.
Therefore, Rosoboronexport expects the regional market for weapons and military hardware to expand steadily over the next several years, he said.
In the last two years, Rosoboronexport signed more than 20 supply contracts with sub-Saharan countries, he said.
Rosoboronexport's website lists Ethiopia, Mali, Uganda, Angola and South Africa as its clients in sub-Saharan Africa.
Rosoboronexport is participating in the Africa Aerospace and Defense 2018, the largest international arms and military equipment expo on the African continent, which opened in Pretoria, South Africa on Wednesday.
Russia is the world's second-largest arms exporter, accounting for 25 percent of the global market and having 116 countries as its clients, according to Rosoboronexport's website.
