http://www.geostrategy-direct.com/geostrategy-direct/secure/2010/11_03/3.asp
Saudis make expansion of defense industries a national priority ABU DHABI - Saudi Arabia has been examining defense industry projects with Western majors. Officials said Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Prince Khalid Bin Sultan has been meeting industry chiefs to plan major military projects. They said Khalid wanted to ensure that Saudi industry was prepared to conduct such tasks as assembly and maintenance of combat platforms, including the Eurofighter Typhoon and F-15. "The Saudi aerospace and defense industry has clearly grown over the last two years, but the question is whether this is enough to participate in major projects?" an Saudi industry source said. On Oct. 19, Khalid convened the state-owned Saudi General Organization for Military Industries to discuss partnerships with the kingdom's private sector. The deputy minister said the effort to expand the defense industry marked a priority of the kingdom. Saudi Arabia has been preparing for the assembly and maintenance of 72 Eurofighter Typhoons in a deal with BAE Systems. Officials also cited Riyad's negotiations with the United States for up to 84 F-15 fighters, produced by Boeing. "With all its resources, the kingdom together with its allies like the UK can build indigenous capacity," British ambassador Sir Tom Phillips said. "We see Saudi Arabia as our prime strategic partner in this region." On Oct. 19, a British defense and security mission discussed cooperation with Saudi officials and industry leaders. The mission, UK Trade & Investment, consisted of 20 top British defense firms with plans for industrial cooperation in the Gulf Cooperation Council kingdom. "This visit is an excellent chance for UK and Saudi companies to build relationships and forge new business links," the British office said. Saudi companies have been complaining that they were losing contracts to their foreign counterparts. In a non-defense contract, Saudi companies cited a $550 million deal given to a Chinese company by the Education Ministry. "On the other hand, government departments strictly applied all terms and conditions including penal action against any national contractor working on their projects," Fatah Al Hamad, an official from the Riyad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said. "But they do not find it easy to apply such measures on foreign contractors." [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [email protected]. -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [email protected] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [email protected] Unsubscribe: [email protected] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtmlYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
