General Department for Local Manufacturing Support General Director Engineer Atiyah al-Maleki expected the volume of contracts in 2018 Armed Forces Exhibition for Diversity of Requirements and Capabilities (AFED) to exceed $15 billion.
During an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, Maleki revealed that locally manufactured products will be exported abroad soon, shedding light on the huge role of attracting human resources in implementing Saudi Vision 2030.
The Saudi Ministry of Defense aims through 2018 Armed Forces Exhibition for Diversity of Requirements and Capabilities to support nationalization of the military spare-parts industry in which more than 60 international companies will take part in the exhibition running from Feb. 25 till March 3 in Riyadh.
The ministry also looks forward to introduce the private sector to the needs and requirements of the armed forces, in addition to establishing communication channels to plan and follow up among beneficiaries, armed forces, factories, local and international companies and research bodies, not to mention finding long-term strategic ties with the private sector in local manufacturing.
Maleki said that more than 65 million items were produced in local factories and were of quality that surpasses that of foreign products. As for the performance of Saudi factories, he didn’t say that it was impeccable but he stressed that the quality of factories is high and only needs some correction and adjustment.
Speaking about the exhibition, he declared that 68 international companies and around 130 local firms will participate – he considered this as an opportunity to local factories. Further, in 2017, the field achieved a growth more than years extending from 2010 till 2016, and this is a huge leap.
Commenting on the Decisive Storm, he said that some of the used armored vehicles are present at the exhibition.
