Defense Secretary, Grant Shapps on December 21 hosted HRH Prince Khalid bin Salman, Minister for Defense of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in London. The counterparts discussed the importance of our joint defense activities to strengthen security in the Middle East, with continued building on industrial partnerships covering land and maritime, as well as our Future Combat Air partnership.
Houthi attacks, including the use of ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial systems against global shipping, represent an increased threat to security in the Red Sea.
The UK has demonstrated its commitment to support regional security and stability through the deployment of HMS Diamond to the Red Sea to protect key global shipping lanes. On Saturday morning, HMS Diamond shot down a suspected attack drone which was targeting merchant shipping in the Red Sea.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has the UK’s close support as it undertakes a Defense Transformation under its ‘Vision 2030’. The UK is continuing with our Defense Adviser Program to Saudi Arabia for a further 3 years, demonstrating our commitment to strengthen cooperation on defense and security matters.
In order to address regional threats and challenges and ensure stability; Saudi Arabia and the UK will look to expand joint cooperation on multiple strategically significant capability areas that match our respective Defense capability plans.