Saudi Arabia's Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Bandar Alkhorayef, recently had a high-level meeting with Airbus Commercial Aircraft CEO Christian Scherer and other Airbus leaders in the commercial aviation and satellite industries.
Both parties exchanged ideas on increasing cooperation in the space and aviation sectors, including prospects for localizing aircraft manufacturing and maintenance technology within the Kingdom.
The meeting, which took place in France, was attended by Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and French Nationals Abroad Laurent Saint-Martin, CEO of Local Content and Government Procurement Authority Abdulrahman Al Samari, and CEO of the National Industrial Development Center Eng. Saleh Al-Solami.
During the meeting, Alkhorayef emphasized the strong strategic relationship between Saudi Arabia and Airbus, which has lasted for almost four decades and constitutes an important pillar for building cooperation in aviation and satellite sectors.
He also pointed out the opportunities for mutual investment, pointing out that the localisation of aviation manufacturing is a priority area in Saudi Vision 2030 and the National Strategy for Industry, aiming to develop national industrial competencies, increase global competitiveness and achieve economic diversification and sustainable development.
Saudi Arabia is in the process of building an advanced industrial and investment climate for the aviation sector, promoting innovation, facilitating supply chain integration and attracting high-quality investments.
Alkhorayef also described the enablers and incentives to draw global aviation firms, such as Airbus. These include streamlined government processes for foreign investment, streamlined regulation, easy licensing, competitive access to strategic minerals such as aluminum and titanium for aviation production, the Kingdom's strategic global positioning as a trade center linking Europe, Asia and Africa, and a favorable investment environment with government-supported financial options and state-of-the-art infrastructure for business viability.