Saudi Defence Minister visits UK to seek ways to beef up national defence

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Defense Prince Khalid bin Salman met with his British counterpart Ben Wallace for official talks in London on December 14, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

The pair reviewed their kingdoms’ strategic and historical ties, discussing ways to further enhance cooperation in the defence and military sectors, during a meeting at the headquarters of Britain’s defence ministry, Al Arabiya reports.

Prince Khalid and Wallace signed a defence cooperation plan, which aims to develop the capabilities of Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry, localize military industries, and strengthen both nations’ partnerships.

During his trip, Prince Khalid also paid an official visit to the headquarters of BAE Systems – a British multinational arms, security and aerospace company – in Wharton, Cumbria.

The Saudi defence minister was briefed on the capabilities of the firms Typhoon aircraft and its combat systems, the company’s future plans which included its program for future combat air capabilities and the development of air systems.

Prince Khalid visited the company’s aviation systems development and design site and was briefed on a number of modern aviation systems.

They also discussed ways to strengthen the long-standing partnership between BAE Systems and the Saudi Armed Forces, which extends for more than 50 years, according to SPA.

Over the years, this partnership has reportedly contributed immensely to the Saudi defence sector, and more specifically, to the goals set out by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2016 under Vision 2030.

Saudi Arabia has ramped up its defence spending in recent years. On Monday, the Kingdom’s governor of the defence sector’s general authority Ahmed al-Ohali revealed that the country had spent $1.4 billion in incentives to boost its local military sector over the last two years.

Al-Ohali said that the incentives included $877 million (3.3 billion riyals) which was directed to research and development throughout 2021 and 2022. He added that the remaining $478.6 million (1.8 billion riyals) was distributed to companies in the Kingdom’s military sector, including Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI).

The Kingdom now has the third-largest defence budget in the world.

Saudi Arabia’s military sector is expected to contribute around $25.2 billion (95 billion riyals) to the Kingdom’s GDP by 2030.