By Sarah Saad
RIYADH/CAIRO- Egyptian Minister of State for Military Production Mohamed Salaheddin Mostafa took part in the World Defense Show (WDS) in Saudi Arabia which kicked off Sunday under the auspices of King Salman ben Abdul Aziz.
The minister hailed the good organisation of the five-day event saying his participation reflects the keenness of the Egyptian and Saudi sides to get acquainted with the most advanced technology in the defense industrialisation domain.
He pointed out to fruitful partnerships between his ministry and the Saudi side in various military and civilian industrialization fields.
He said a memo of understanding was signed with the Saudi side in December to support joint cooperation.
The Egyptian minister met with Iraqi minister of Defense Thabet al Abbasy on the sidelines of the show as the two sides reaffirmed the importance of deepening joint relations and expressed keenness on joint industrialization and technology transfer.
Hundreds of defense firms from dozens of countries descended on Riyadh as the second-ever World Defense Show kicks off, offering a glimpse into what the kingdom sees as “the future of defense.”
“We’re hoping for a much bigger and better show this time around. This time [WDS] will be heavily focused on the future of defense, [as] we’re going to showcase what the defense landscape might look like in 2030 and beyond,” WDS CEO Andrew Pearcey told Breaking Defense in an interview.
The goal of the WDS, according to Pearcey, is to become “the biggest defense show in the world. And to do that [we] need to grow … to be bigger and better than other shows, that’s our vision.”
