Georgia and Kazakhstan have both announced the first major arms sales of their nascent defense industries, both for armored vehicles: Georgia's to Saudi Arabia, and Kazakhstan's to Jordan. 



Under one deal, Georgia's state arms manufacturer Delta will sell "more than 100" armored medical evacuation vehicles to Saudi Arabia, with the first 12 being shipped before the end of the month, the company announced on Tuesday. The deal will be worth "up to" $40 million.



The vehicle underwent trials in Saudi Arabia in 2014 and was a finalist in a competition with the American company Lenco. 



Meanwhile, Jordan's defense ministry also announced on Tuesday that it was buying an undisclosed number of armored vehicles from the joint venture of Kazakhstan Engineering and Paramount of South Africa. That joint venture formed last year to produce Paramount's vehicles at a factory in Astana. The dollar value of the deal with Jordan wasn't announced.



The governments of both Georgia and Kazakhstan have attempted to jumpstart their countries' respective defense industries over the past few years. Both have worked to bring in foreign expertise and technology to revitalize the legacy Soviet arms industry facilities in their countries.



While the focus in both Georgia and Kazakhstan has been first on building weaponry for domestic consumption, both have also sought export potential, as well. It's a remarkable coincidence that both have announced their first big export deals on the same day.