MOSCOW, November 15. /TASS/. The portfolio of orders received by Rosoboronexport from Arab states (23 countries of the Middle East and North Africa) amounts to $8 bln for the time being, chief executive of the Russian arms exporter Alexander Mikheev said on Wednesday on the air with Rossiya 24 TV Channel.

"We signed a series of contracts. The portfolio of orders with countries of these regions is about $8 bln. It is probably about 20% from the volume of export contracts we have," Mikheev said.

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt show interest in Russian defense equipment, Mikheev said. Cooperation programs with these countries are intended for several years and almost all major Russian defense holdings and corporations participated in them, he added.

Rosoboronexport has the orders portfolio of about $45 bln as of November 2017, Mikheev said earlier.