Hanwha Group, Saudi Arabia to co-develop defense products

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Hanwha Group, Saudi Arabia to co-develop defense products

Published: 06 Nov. 2024, 18:18

Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan, right, and Abdullah bin Bandar Al Saud, Saudi minister of the National Guard, discuss the defense industry at Lotte Hotel in central Seoul. [YONHAP]

Korean chemicals-to-aerospace conglomerate Hanwha Group will collaborate with Saudi Arabia to develop defense industry goods and provide maintenance, repair and overhaul services in the region.

Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan and Abdullah bin Bandar Al Saud, Saudi minister of the National Guard, have agreed to collaboratively respond to defense industry demands in the Middle East and contribute to Saudi Arabia's economy, the company said in a statement Wednesday.

The Saudi minister hopes the two sides will maintain a strategic and long-term partnership and serve as a defense industry hub for the Middle Eastern and African markets, the statement said.

Under its Vision 2030 project, Saudi Arabia, historically reliant on imported defense industry products, aims to meet more than 50 percent of its overall defense industry demand with domestic production.

Vision 2030 aims to reduce the Middle Eastern country's reliance on oil and promote investment in new business areas to support economic growth.

Yonhap