https://www.engineeringnews.co.za

Saudi Arabia offers opportunities to South African defence industry

SAMI CEO Dr Andreas Schwer

Photo by Dylan Slater

President Cyril Ramaphosa met with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman during a State visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in July

20th September 2018

By: Rebecca Campbell

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

Font size: - +

State-owned Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) is seeking very close relationships with South African defence companies. "We are ready to invest in the South African defence industry and fund local research and development (R&D)," SAMI CEO Dr Andreas Schwer told Engineering News Online at the Africa Aerospace and Defence 2018 show, at Air Force Base Waterkloof in Pretoria.

"The idea is to jointly develop intellectual property, and open the Saudi Arabian defence market for South African companies," he said. "Saudi Arabia is the number two importer of defence equipment in the world."

"We are here [at AAD] to show our commitment to South Africa," he assured. "We will invest in the South African defence industry and we will help finance R&D projects that are stuck for lack of funds. The idea is to duplicate R&D and manufacturing in both countries, and not to just take South African technology to Saudi Arabia, thereby strengthening both industries."

"We have ongoing negotiations with more than one South African defence company, in terms of acquiring stocks or shares," he reported. "One is in a very advanced stage and another one is in a medium stage. We hope to sign deals or MoUs [memorandums of understanding] with both by the end of this year and go public with the information."

He added that SAMI was also in negotiations with some other South African defence companies to establish collaborative relations and joint ventures (JVs). "Our offering, in terms of collaboration, is, in our view, a unique chance for the South African defence industry to get a substantial stream of funding and a significant growth opportunity through preferential access to the Saudi Arabian market. We do not believe any other country can make such an offer."

He pointed out that establishing such relationships would benefit employment in South Africa and secure national strategic assets. "With our support they can grow, instead of shrinking."

One of the South African companies involved in these talks is the State-owned defence group Denel. "We are in close discussions and negotiations with Denel and its shareholder," he stated. "Numerous options are being discussed."

The political framework for these offers was established during President Cyril Ramaphosa's State Visit to Saudi Arabia in July. During this, the two countries signed an MoU on defence, among other agreements.

SAMI was formally established last year and started operations at the beginning of this year. It will be active in all sectors of the defence industry – space, air, land, sea, electronics, cyber, and so on. Its objective is to be one of the world's top 25 defence companies by 2030.

It will achieve this by localising 50% of all defence equipment and services acquired by Saudi Arabia. This will be done by means of JVs with international partners. In return for assisting with localisation of their technologies, the international companies will enjoy preferred supplier status with Saudi Arabia for decades to come.

SAMI had already signed a significant number of MoUs with international partners. "These partners will come from all around the world, including South Africa," assured Schwer.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

Comments

Showroom

SBS Tanks
SBS Tanks

SBS® Tanks is a leading provider of innovative water security solutions with offices in Southern Africa, East and West Africa, the USA and an...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
SAIMC (Society for Automation, Instrumentation, Mechatronics and Control)
SAIMC (Society for Automation, Instrumentation, Mechatronics and Control)

Education: Consulting with member companies to obtain the optimal benefits from their B-BBEE spending, skills resources as well as B-BBEE points

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Photo of Martin Creamer
On-The-Air (04/10/2024)
4th October 2024 By: Martin Creamer
Magazine round up | 04 October 2024
Magazine round up | 04 October 2024
4th October 2024

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.086 0.135s - 206pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now