Ottawa, February 19 (RHC)-- Saudi Arabia is buying 10 billion dollars worth of weapons from a Canadian subsidiary of a U.S. arms maker. General Dynamics has announced that it secured the 14-year contract for its Canadian division to sell Riyadh military vehicles as well as training and support services with a value of 10 billion dollars.

The vehicles will be produced by General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada (GDLS) in the southwestern city of London in Ontario. Meanwhile, Canadian International Trade Minister Ed Fast said in a statement that the deal was being made with Saudi Arabia. Other reports said the real value of the transaction would be 13 billion dollars.

The development came despite the Saudi regime's involvement in violence in the Middle East, particularly by supporting Takfiri militants fighting against the Syrian government and backing the Bahraini regime in its crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.

According to a report by London's International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in early February, the Al Saud's expenditure on defense has surpassed that of the United Kingdom and France as its spending stood at 59.6 billion dollars in 2013.