Saudi Arabia's Public Investment fund (PIF) announced the establishment of a new state owned military industries company on Wednesday, Arab News reported. 

Saudi officials hope that the company, launched under the kingdom's Vision 2030 and named Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI), will become one of the world's top twenty five defense companies within a decade. 

“While the kingdom is one of the world’s top five spenders on security and defense overall, only around 2 percent of our military procurement is domestic,” Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in a statement, adding that with SAMI's launch, 50 percent of Saudi Arabia’s military procurement spending will be localized.

According to Arab News, SAMI will manufacture products and provide services across four business units including air systems, land systems, weapons/missiles, and defense electronics. 

The company is set to directly contribute around SR14 billion ($3.7 billion) to the kingdom’s GDP, invest over SR6 billion ($1.5 billion) in research, and create over 40,000 jobs by 2030.

Plans for the latest venture also include partnerships with several universities, providing students with "apprenticeships and careers in cutting edge technologies, which were previously unavailable in the kingdom."

SAMI, is the latest project launched under Vision 2030, which is slowly transforming and revolutionizing various aspects of the kingdom's social, economic and political landscapes.

The ambitious blueprint aims to fight unemployment, develop non-oil industries, support small and medium enterprises, and create a broader investment base in Saudi Arabia. 

Under it, the newly launched national military defense company will contribute to diversifying the economy and strengthening the country's national security. 

Jordan's Azraq refugee camp, located in Northern Jordan, is officially the world's first clean energy refugee camp.  

Syrian families living in the camp will now be able to light up their homes, charge their phones and keep their food refrigerated ... all with renewable energy thanks to a new two-megawatt solar photovoltaic plant. 

The UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, switched on the camp's new solar plant on Wednesday - providing some 20,000 Syrian refugees with clean energy, all free of charge. 

"Today marks a milestone," said Kelly T. Clements, UNHCR Deputy High Commissioner. 

"Lighting up the camp is not only a symbolic achievement; it provides a safer environment for all camp residents, opens up livelihoods opportunities, and gives children the chance to study after dark. Above all, it allows all residents of the camps to lead more dignified lives," she added.

The solar plant is connected to Jordan's national grid, and aims to be expanded by early next year in an effort to provide all 36,000 refugees currently residing in the camp with power.  

The project was built at a cost of $9.6 million, and was funded entirely by IKEA's "Brighter Lives for Refugees" campaign. 

It will result in direct energy savings that amount to $1.5 million annually. It will also result in 2,370 tons of CO2 emissions savings per year. 

The Azraq solar grid is the first step towards a cleaner Jordan. The kingdom pledged to have 1,600 megawatts of solar and wind power by 2020.

"In Syria we were used to a particular lifestyle, and then we were disconnected from it when we became refugees," said Fatima, a 52-year-old single mother living in the camp, according to UNHCR.

"For someone who is used to having electricity, you cannot imagine how difficult it is to live without it," she added. 

For nearly three years, residents in the camp had relied on portable solar lanterns to light their homes. Families had no means of refrigerating their food. 

This new solar plant is definitely a step in the right direction.