Part of the visit

Friday/Saturday, July 24, 2026

WAS - London:

His Royal Highness Prince Abdullah bin Khalid bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques' Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, visited the Farnborough International Airshow 2026, held in the United Kingdom, the day before yesterday. He met with a number of senior British officials and leaders of leading British and international companies in the defense, aviation, and space sectors to discuss cooperation opportunities in advanced technologies, innovation, and industrial development.

Geographical references

On the sidelines of the exhibition, His Highness held discussions on ways to enhance defense cooperation between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom, serving the common interests of the two countries and contributing to maintaining regional and international security, in light of the close strategic partnership between the two countries and the role of defense cooperation as a cornerstone in the course of bilateral relations.

His Highness also met with a number of senior officials from the British Ministry of Defence, including the British National Armaments Director Mr. Robert Pearce, the Director General for Industry, Trade and Economic Security at the British Ministry of Defence Ms. Avril Jolliffe, and the British Defence Senior Adviser for the Middle East and North Africa, British Vice Admiral Mr. Edward Algren.

Within the framework of his meetings with representatives of the industrial sector, His Highness met with officials from a number of leading British and international companies, including BAE Systems, Eurofighter, MBDA, and Rolls-Royce. The discussions focused on technology exchange, research and innovation, industrial development, and capacity building, supporting the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 and enhancing industrial partnerships between the two sides.

The meetings reviewed existing areas of cooperation between the two sides, discussed prospects for their development, and identified new avenues for cooperation aligned with the renewed priorities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom in defense and advanced industries.

His Highness affirmed the Kingdom's commitment to encouraging British companies to enhance their long-term industrial presence in the Kingdom and actively participate in localization initiatives, noting that expanding cooperation in advanced technologies and innovation would enhance the competitiveness and resilience of the defense sectors in both the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom, while consolidating the longstanding strategic partnership between the two countries.

Participating in the meetings from the industrial sector were: the Chief Executive Officer of BAE Systems, Dr. Charles Woodburn; the Managing Director of BAE Systems' Air sector, Simon Barnes; the General Manager of BAE Systems in Saudi Arabia, Steve Clatten; the Chief Executive Officer of Eurofighter Typhoon, Jorge Tamarit Degenhardt; the Managing Director of MBDA in the United Kingdom, Chris Allam; the Director of Business Development and Future Programs at Rolls-Royce, Alex Zino; and the Vice President of UK Government Relations and International Relations for Defense at Rolls-Royce, Catherine Williams.