Local Editor
South African defense company Paramount Group is discussing with the Saudi Arabia government the prospects of establishing production facilities in the kingdom, its chairman said on Monday.
Saudi Arabia, one of the world's largest arms buyers, is seeking international partners to develop its manufacturing capabilities with the aim of producing half of its required military equipment domestically by 2030.
"We are in negotiations with various governments in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, with a view to transferring technology and establishing production in those countries," Paramount Group Chairman Ivor Ichikowitz told Reuters at a conference in Abu Dhabi.
Saudi Arabia has been incessantly pounding Yemen since March 2015 in an attempt to crush the popular Houthi Ansarullah movement and forcefully reinstate former president, Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who is a staunch ally of the Riyadh regime.
Ichikowitz declined to disclose what the privately held defense company was in talks to manufacture in Saudi Arabia but said the kingdom would be a focus for the group over the next couple of years.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
