The Secretary of State for Defence the is visiting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
(28 February to 2 March). The Defence Secretary held a number of
bilateral meetings, including with HRH Prince Khalid bin Salman,
the Minister for Defence of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; and
others in the Saudi government.
It was an opportunity to reflect on the strength and depth of the
UK-Saudi partnership, including following the signing of the
Defence Cooperation Plan in December 2022. The Defence Secretary
reaffirmed the UK’s enduring commitment to work with the Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia, with discussion of how to enhance the bilateral
relationship yet further in support of regional stability and
security.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace expressed his gratitude to Saudi
Arabia following the recent commitment of $410 million in aid for
Ukraine, announced during Foreign Minister HH Prince Faisal bin
Farhan Al-Saud’s visit to Kyiv last weekend.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said:
It was a pleasure to meet with HRH Prince Khalid bin Salman, the
Minister for Defence of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and build on
the long history of UK-Saudi defence collaboration. The Statement
of Intent signed today will strengthen our Saudi-UK combat air
relationship and our ability to address shared security
challenges for decades to come, supporting Saudi Vision 2030
aspirations.
The Defence Ministers signed a Statement of Intent (SOI) during
the visit, which will initiate a Partnering Feasibility Study to
explore how we can best position our decades long combat air
relationship for the future. Both Governments confirmed a common
desire for closer industrial collaboration, to develop key
capabilities and boost prosperity in both nations, including in
support of Saudi Vision 2030 objectives.
