DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia increased its military and security spending in 2015 by about 20 billion riyals ($5.3 billion), Economy and Planning Minister Adel Fakieh told reporters on Monday.
Fakieh attributed the rise to the kingdom's participation in Operation Decisive Storm, an intervention by a Saudi-led Gulf Arab coalition in Yemen's civil war.
The government had previously not disclosed the cost of its intervention in Yemen, which largely consists of air strikes.
A 2016 budget plan released by the finance ministry on Monday allocated 213 billion riyals to the military and security services, the largest single allocation. It comprised over 25 percent of the total budget.