UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar Middle East Tour
"Saudi Shows Interest in Developing 6th Generation Fighter Jet"
Shin Won-sik, Minister of National Defense, who is on an official visit to Qatar, is taking a commemorative photo on the 6th (local time) at the Qatar Ministry of Defense after signing the "Korea-Qatar Defense Cooperation Joint Committee Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)" with Khalid bin Mohammed Al Attiyah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense.
Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik visited three Middle Eastern countries? the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, and Qatar?from the 1st to the 7th to support defense industry exports. Additional weapons system contracts between Korean companies and Middle Eastern countries are expected to be concluded by next year. Notably, Saudi Arabia has shown interest in Korea's 6th-generation fighter jet development.
On the 8th, Minister Shin told reporters, "I completed broad and productive talks with the defense ministers of the three Middle Eastern countries regarding defense cooperation, including defense industry collaboration," adding, "Even greater positive outcomes will follow."
Regarding the public announcement of the export contract for the ballistic missile interceptor system 'Cheongung II' (M-SAM II) during his visit to Saudi Arabia, he explained, "This is the first case of publicly disclosing a large-scale defense export achievement in the Middle East region," and emphasized, "It is a very meaningful event that showcased the excellence of 'K-Defense' to the world."
In addition to the M-SAM II, Minister Shin discussed numerous defense cooperation projects with the visited countries, and Qatar and the UAE also evaluated defense cooperation with Korea positively, he said.
In particular, Minister Shin stated, "I explained the 6th-generation fighter jet plan to Saudi Arabia and received considerable agreement."
A senior official from the Ministry of National Defense who accompanied the tour said, "Saudi Arabia is interested in the development of the 6th-generation fighter jet," adding, "They inquired about it, and we explained Korea's plan." It was also reported that Saudi Arabia showed interest in the Korean aircraft engine model presented by Hanwha Aerospace.
However, the official noted that no agreement has yet been reached with Saudi Arabia on joint development of the 6th-generation fighter jet. Regarding defense industry cooperation with Saudi Arabia, Minister Shin said, "(Saudi Arabia) has secured a 10-year budget," and "We discussed several constructive measures that can be pursued together over the next 10 years."
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