Riyadh: The chief of South Korea's state arms procurement agency recently engaged in discussions with senior defense officials in Saudi Arabia to explore opportunities for cooperation in modernizing the Middle Eastern nation's armed forces, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced on Wednesday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, DAPA Minister Seok Jong-gun visited Saudi Arabia for a two-day trip earlier this week. The visit forms part of Seoul's broader strategy to diversify its arms exports, particularly targeting markets in the Middle East and Latin America.
During his stay, Seok held dialogues with Saleh bin Abdulrahman Al-Harbi, the chief of staff of the National Guard. He briefed Al-Harbi on Seoul's initiatives to boost arms exports while also enhancing Riyadh's capacity to develop its own arms industry. Both officials acknowledged the progress in collaborative efforts to modernize Saudi Arabia's National Guard and committed to achieving concrete outcomes by the end of the year.
Seok also met with Ahmad Abdulaziz Al-Ohali, the governor of Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Military Industries. They agreed to form a working group with DAPA to devise plans for localization, marking a significant step toward deeper cooperation.
The DAPA chief highlighted that this visit, which came just four months after his previous trip to Saudi Arabia in January, was instrumental in laying the groundwork for stronger bilateral arms cooperation. It also aimed to position Saudi Arabia as a pivotal hub for arms industry collaboration in the Middle East.
South Korea is striving to secure a 5 percent share of the global arms export market by 2027, with the ambition of becoming the world's fourth-largest defense exporter.