Saudi and French companies Sami and Thales are signing an agreement to establish a joint entity
By Marwa Mahmoud
The Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) has signed a contract to establish a commercial entity under the joint venture system with the French company “Thales” on the sidelines of Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, inaugurating the “National Industrial Development and Logistics Program.”
The joint venture with Thales includes a variety of areas like : short-range air defense radars and anti-missiles, command and control systems (C2), multi-mission missiles, guided bomb arresters, as well as investments in local market facilities and equipment with a localization rate of up to 70%, thus creating almost 2,000 jobs to Saudi youth.
On this occasion, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) Ahmed bin Aqeel Al-Khatib said that this joint project will contribute to achieving the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
it also will help to continuing to activate Prince Muhammad bin Salman, the Crown Prince, to localize 50% of the kingdom’s military spending by the year 2030 AD, noting that the (SAMI) is one of the most important outputs of the ambitious vision of his Highness.
The Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) signed 18 strategic agreements during the month of December 2018 with major global, regional and local companies in the fields of technology, defense, security, research and development.
The agreements included memoranda of agreement, understanding and collaboration with ‘Boeing,’ ‘Lockheed Martin,’ ‘Paramount,’ ‘Hensault,’ ‘L3 Communications,’ ‘BAE Systems’ and ‘British Defense Solutions Center,’ Airbus, MBDA, Leonardo, Prince Sultan Center for Studies and Development, Elektronica, and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology.
Al-Khatib indicated that all these agreements support the creation of an integrated system for defense industries by involving the energy, industry and research institutions, which greatly contributes to enhancing the readiness of the armed forces and raising local content, in addition to creating job and training opportunities for Saudi youth.
