Defence Builder's Board Member and CEO of Sigma Software Group Valery Krasovsky met with Olena Shyrokova, Co-Founder of the Ukrainian Arab Business Chamber, President of the Ukrainian Business Council in Dubai, and Vice Chairwoman of the ICC UAE Commission on Trade & Investment, to discuss entry points for Ukrainian defence tech companies into the Gulf market.

The meeting comes at a time of growing strategic alignment between Ukraine and the Gulf region in defence and security. In March 2026, President Zelenskyy signed 10-year defence cooperation agreements with Saudi Arabia and Qatar covering technology transfer, joint investment and defence contracts, with a similar deal with the UAE currently being finalised. According to Bloomberg, Abu Dhabi is considering a dedicated defence investment fund targeting drone manufacturers in Ukraine and Europe.

The operational context underpins the commercial one. Gulf states face an active drone and missile threat and have been relying on costly legacy systems — spending $3–4M per Patriot interceptor against targets worth $70K. Ukraine, after three years of countering exactly this type of threat at scale, has both the expertise and the products. Over 200 Ukrainian air defence experts are already deployed across the region.

The UAE defence budget is estimated at $25–27 billion in 2026, projected to reach $30 billion by 2030 — making it one of the largest and fastest-growing defence markets globally.

The working meeting focused on the regulatory landscape for defence tech exports to the UAE, partnership structures available through UBC's network across the Emirates, and positioning strategies for Defence Builder's portfolio companies entering a market with significant procurement budgets and urgent operational demand.