The Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI) () is an Egypt-based Arab military organization established in 1975 by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar to supervise the collective development of the Arab defense industry. Following a gradual deterioration in relations between the AOI member-states, Egypt became sole owner of AOI in 1993. As well as meeting the requirements of the Egyptian military, AOI directs spare capacity to civilian programmes, including civilian transport and sanitation equipment; additionally, AOI has stated its intention of entering the wind power sector.
Initially an institution of Pan-Arabism, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates returned their shares in AOI, valued at US$1.8 billion, to Egypt in 1993, leaving AOI wholly owned by Egypt. AOI has approximately 16,000 employees, out of which 1,250 are engineers. AOI fully owns 12 factories and shares in 1 joint-venture, besides the Arab Institute for Development Technology.
History
AOI was established by its four member-states - Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE - in response to the threat posed by the advanced Israeli defence industry. The initial capitalisation of AOI was USD 1 billion, contributed in equal part by the four member-states, although with the understanding AOI would be based in Egypt.
Westland Helicopters v. Arab Organisation for Industrialization
In 1978, AOI and Westland Helicopters, a British aerospace company, established the Arab British Helicopter Company as a joint venture, but a year later AOI announced the company's liquidation. In ensuing arbitration, the International Chamber of Commerce made an award, on grounds of breach of the principles of natural law and good faith, in favour of Westland Helicopters and against AOI's four member-states. This award was later annulled by the Court of Justice of Geneva, which annulment was upheld by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court, on grounds that the arbitrators had jurisdiction over AOI but not over the organisation's member-states.
Egyptian isolation
Following the signing of the Egypt-Israeli peace treaty (1979), Egypt had its membership to the Arab League suspended and a policy of economic isolation implemented against it. It was in this atmosphere that the three AOI member-states other than Egypt - Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE - withdrew from the AOI, causing its collapse.
In 1983, the Egyptian chief-of-staff restated his interest in the joint manufacture of weapons, but it was only after the 1987 Arab League summit in Amman, Jordan, when the Arab League re-admitted Egypt and the other Arab states normalised relations with Egypt, that the possibility of renewed co-operation among the AOI member-states seemed possible.
The UAE seemed similarly eager to reinvigorate the AOI: in 1988, Egypt and the UAE held talks with Qatar about its re-entry into the AOI, at which an agreement for closer co-operation between Egypt and Qatar in the fields of culture and communication was signed.
Organization
AOI is one of the largest industrial organisations in Egypt with significant international relationships both in the defence and civilian transport sectors. The AOI is wholly state-owned by Egypt and administered by a Supreme Committee, the chairman of which is the Egyptian president and which includes several cabinet ministers, but it is not a division of the Ministry of Military Production as the treaty upon which it was established declares the Arab Organization for Industrialization as an independent international Organisation, even though it is now only owned by Egypt but the establishing treaty stays the same, and changing it requires the consent of the establishing parties .
Current enterprises
All AOI enterprises are ISO 9000/2001 and ISO 14001/2004 certified.
AOI Aircraft Factory
The AOI's Aircraft Factory (, abbreviated ACF) was established in 1950 as Helwan Aircraft Factory and is a key aerospace manufacturer in Egypt. It is located in Helwan.
The AOI Aircraft Factory manufactures and assembles aircraft for the Egyptian air force, including:
Helwan HA-200 Al Kahirah subsonic trainer
Prototype Helwan HA-300 supersonic fighter
Alpha Jet
Tucano turboprop trainer
the K-8E jet trainer.