Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Under the patronage of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, Saudi Arabia’s World Defense Show opened its first-ever edition on Sunday.

On the first day, the exhibition witnessed a program that included many deliberations, which attracted a number of senior defense leaders from the industrial sector to discuss many topics including Saudi Vision 2030, technology, innovation and skills needed to determine the future of defense, and strategies that will shape defense global future.

Among the participants in the discussions were the CEO of the Saudi Military Industries Company (SAMI) Eng. Walid Abukhaled, the President of King Fahd University Dr. Muhammad Al-Saqqaf and a number of civil and military figures.

Discussions took place on key topics in the military and defense, while senior officials from major global companies including BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing and L3Harris Technologies made keynote speeches during their participation in the various sessions.

The exhibition is expected to attract 30,000 visitors throughout four days, from March 6-9, 2022. The program will host up to 600 meetings from more than 40 countries, according to a press statement.

Organized by Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI), the World Defense Show is set to be held every two years, will accelerate the future of the industry by showcasing the latest technological developments from around the globe, demonstrating defense interoperability across all major domains: air, land, sea, space and security systems.

The event will mark a strategic milestone to support the Kingdom’s efforts to localize more than 60 percent of the military expenditure by 2030, said GAMI Governor Ahmad Al-Ohali, adding that the show witnessed overwhelming global turnout.