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 opportunities for cooperation in advanced technologies, innovation, and industrial development.

Saudi News

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

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

As part of his meetings with representatives of the industrial sector, His Highness met with officials from several 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.

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

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 Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom, while solidifying the long-standing strategic partnership between the two countries.

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