From manufacturing fighter jets and armoured border patrol vehicles to electric cars and micro-electronics, the Arab Organisation for Industrialisation (AOI) is a model for the attainment of self-sufficiency.
A pillar of the Egyptian industrial renaissance, it combines extensive experience and expertise with an ambitious vision for reshaping both the defence and civilian industries.
The AOI is an Arab international organisation established in 1975 by Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. It emerged from a meeting of the leaders of these countries who were keen to capitalise on the victory in the October 1973 War and the spirit of Arab solidarity that had made that victory possible.
Arab industrial enterprise was meant to capture this spirit and the forward-looking hopes of the time for development.
At first, the AOI comprised only four manufacturing companies, but by 2024 these had grown to 14, seven of which operate in both the defence and civilian industries while the other seven specialise in producing items needed for infrastructure projects, renewable energy projects, and electronic and medical industries, among others.
AOI Chair Mokhtar Abdel-Latif told Al-Ahram Weekly in an interview on the occasion of the organisation’s 50th anniversary that “in line with the Egyptian government’s orientation towards technology transfer and indigenising modern manufactures, our organisation is working to attract international firms to cooperate in projects in various industries that will help promote these ends.”
The AOI receives excellent support from the political leadership, and President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi personally follows its progress and offers all possible support for the organisation as it strives to do its part in achieving Egypt’s national goals, he added.
In the defence industries, one of the AOI’s subsidiaries, the Kader Factory for Developed Industries has been producing armoured vehicles for over 50 years, according to Abdel-Latif.
Its best-known product is the Fahd armoured vehicle, which played an important role in counterterrorism operations in Sinai. It has now been upgraded to meet modern specifications and is exported to some African and Arab countries, where it enjoys an excellent reputation.
The Sakr Factory for Advanced Industries produces bombs in collaboration with the Egyptian Air Force. “The Hafez series is one of its products,” Abdel-Latif said. “They are named in honour of the late Air Marshal Reda Hafez. These are powerful bombs, with the Hafez 3 being able to penetrate reinforced concrete up to 180 cm thick. We are currently working on converting them into guided bombs in cooperation with the Egyptian Armed Forces and foreign companies.”
Sakr also manufactures a line of 122 mm rockets with different ranges and various types of ammunition as well as mines and breaching systems. There is considerable demand for these products from various African and other countries, Abdel-Latif said.
The AOI has an electronics factory that specialises in the production of electronic devices for civilian and military purposes. In collaboration with the Egyptian Army’s Warfare Department, the factory has succeeded in designing and producing a locally manufactured device for detecting and measuring radiation.
“It is the first of its kind in Egypt. It was showcased at the latest EDEX Fair [the Egypt Defence Expo], and soon it will enter mass production,” Abdel-Latif said. He added that the factory is also collaborating with the Armed Forces Electronic Warfare Department and the Signals Department to produce communication and jamming devices of the sort used in electronic warfare.
Another AOI subsidiary, the Arab British Dynamics Company, produces guided anti-tank missiles in cooperation with the Egyptian Armed Forces.
The AOI is a regional leader in aviation manufactures. “We have a highly regarded aircraft factory that has produced many types of aircraft, one of the last being the K8E training aircraft. 120 of these have been manufactured for the Armed Forces. We are currently working with the Armed Forces and foreign partners to develop a more advanced training aircraft,” Abdel-Latif said.
Another aviation-related company is the engines factory, which, according to Abdel-Latif, is responsible for the maintenance and overhaul of around 90 per cent of the Egyptian Air Force’s engines. It has been certified as an international centre for maintaining the Larzac engines for the Alpha Jet aircraft, and it is the only certified centre in the world for this.
The engines factory has a cooperation agreement with the US-based Honeywell in the field of aircraft and tank engine maintenance, and this has contributed to enhancing its international profile.
The AOI also often partners with the private sector. According to Abdel-Latif, it has a 30 per cent share in the production of fibre-optic cables in a factory run by Egyptian Benya Global, a leading digital solutions and ICT infrastructure provider in Egypt and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
The AOI also collaborates with the Hisham Talaat Moustafa Group and the Swiss firm Schindler to manufacture elevators.
Developing the inter-Arab solidarity that inspired the AOI’s creation is paramount, according to its Chairman. He told the Weekly that he had raised the issue during a recent meeting with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed.
“Thanks to the support of the political leadership, we are open to broadening and strengthening regional partnerships,” he said.
Abdel-Latif has an upbeat view of the organisation’s prospects. “The AOI possesses the technological and human capacities to meet the growing needs of the Egyptian Armed Forces, as well as Egypt’s Arab and African partners. We are firm believers in working together with universities and civil society to develop national projects. Egypt is taking major strides forward.”
Thanks to the unity between the people and the army, we will always be able to reach our goals,” Abdel-Latif concluded.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 28 November, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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