On February 2, 2022, the U.S.-Saudi Business Council (USSBC) and SAMI, a Saudi defense and security group of companies, held a webinar titled “The Future of the Defense and Security Industry in Saudi Arabia: An Update.” SAMI was represented by its CEO, Eng. Walid Abukhaled, while USSBC President and CEO H. Delano Roosevelt moderated the session.
After opening remarks by Mr. Roosevelt, Eng. Abukhaled gave a presentation on SAMI’s localization strategy and updated viewers on the country’s progress in building a sustainable domestic defense sector with a durable supply chain. He began by giving an overview about SAMI, noting that the organization was established to play a key role in localizing 50 percent of Saudi Arabia’s total government defense spending by 2030.
Following Eng. Abukhaled’s discussion, Mr. Roosevelt moderated a Q&A session with questions submitted by the webinar’s attendees.
Key points of the session included the following:
- Companies do not need a license from the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) to work with SAMI – they just need to be an approved vendor
- The required localization rate for defense ventures is 57 percent on average, but localization requirements are heavily incentivized as well
- In addition to large companies, SAMI is eager to work with SMEs, as the company is looking for specific capabilities
- SAMI is open to other types of partnerships than JVs if the agreement makes more business sense for SAMI and its partner
- SAMI can help U.S. companies identify other offtake opportunities, including those companies with regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia that want to export from their Saudi facilities to the rest of the region
Eng. Abukhaled concluded his part in the webinar by noting that the U.S.-Saudi relationship has lasted over 75 years, and he is confident that it will continue well into the future. Mr. Roosevelt concluded by thanking Eng. Abukhaled and reminded attendees of the Council’s ability to help U.S. companies interested in partnerships with SAMI or its affiliates. The session had a total of 68 attendees.
To view a recording of the webinar, please see below:
