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Saudi, Turkish Companies Ink Agreement and 2 MoUs to Localize Drone Industry

Saudi companies specialized in military and defense industries and Turkish defense companies have signed an agreement and 2 memorandums of understanding (MoUs). SPA
Saudi companies specialized in military and defense industries and Turkish defense companies have signed an agreement and 2 memorandums of understanding (MoUs). SPA
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Saudi, Turkish Companies Ink Agreement and 2 MoUs to Localize Drone Industry

Saudi companies specialized in military and defense industries and Turkish defense companies have signed an agreement and 2 memorandums of understanding (MoUs). SPA
Saudi companies specialized in military and defense industries and Turkish defense companies have signed an agreement and 2 memorandums of understanding (MoUs). SPA

Several Saudi companies specialized in military and defense industries and Turkish defense companies have signed an agreement and two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to localize the drone industry and its component systems within the Kingdom.

Sunday’s signing ceremony in Riyadh was under the patronage of Saudi Minister of Defense Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz.

The agreement and MoUs are an extension of the two acquisition contracts signed by the Saudi Defense Ministry two weeks ago with Turkish defense company "Baykar" to raise the readiness of the armed forces and enhance the Kingdom's defense and manufacturing capabilities.

During the ceremony held on this occasion, the Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) signed a localization agreement with Baykar.

The agreement focuses on the manufacturing of electronic systems, mechanical components, and drone structures using composite materials, as well as encompassing manufacturing, final aviation testing, and the provision of training and support services.

The CEO of SAMI, Eng. Waleed bin Abdulmajeed Abu Khaled, and the CEO of Baykar, Haluk Bayraktar, signed the localization agreement.

Moreover, the Saudi National Company for Mechanical Systems (NCMS) signed a MoU with Roketsan and Aselsan, two leading Turkish defense companies, to localize the production of ammunition and optical sensors for drones in the Kingdom.

Representing the Saudi side, the CEO of the MCMS, Eng Ali Abdulla Alashban, signed the MoU while the CEOs of the Turkish companies Aselsan and Roketsan, Ahmet Akyol and Murat Ikinci, respectively, signed on behalf of their companies.

Assistant Minister of Defense for Executive Affairs Dr. Khalid bin Hussein Al-Bayari expressed his gratitude for the gracious patronage of the Minister of Defense, emphasizing the wise leadership's keen interest and support in localizing military industries and enhancing manufacturing and defense capabilities in the Kingdom.

The Assistant Minister stressed that the localization agreement and the MoUs reflect the concerted efforts of the Ministry of Defense, in coordination with the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) as the legislative authority for the military industry sector, and the General Authority for Defense Development (GADD), responsible for defining research, development, and innovation objectives in technology and defense systems.

This achievement aligns with Saudi Vision 2030's target of localizing more than 50% of total military spending, he clarified.

Dr. Khalid indicated that they would also significantly contribute to the development of localization capabilities within the Kingdom through technology transfer, knowledge sharing, and training of Saudi personnel. This will not only strengthen local capabilities but also create valuable employment opportunities for the Saudi youth, he noted.

During the ceremony, the CEO of SAMI highlighted that the signing of the agreement and MoUs reaffirms the strong support and interest of the wise leadership in localizing the defense industries sector and advancing the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.

Additionally, Eng. Waleed emphasized that the localization agreement represents a major milestone for SAMI, positioning the company among the top 25 companies in this sector globally.

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World Breathes Sigh of Relief as Trump Spares Fed, IMF

US President Donald Trump speaks to members of press onboard Air Force One on a flight to Fiumicino Airport near Rome to attend the funeral of Pope Francis, April 25, 2025. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump speaks to members of press onboard Air Force One on a flight to Fiumicino Airport near Rome to attend the funeral of Pope Francis, April 25, 2025. (Reuters)
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World Breathes Sigh of Relief as Trump Spares Fed, IMF

US President Donald Trump speaks to members of press onboard Air Force One on a flight to Fiumicino Airport near Rome to attend the funeral of Pope Francis, April 25, 2025. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump speaks to members of press onboard Air Force One on a flight to Fiumicino Airport near Rome to attend the funeral of Pope Francis, April 25, 2025. (Reuters)

Global policymakers gathering in Washington this week breathed a collective sigh of relief that the US-centric economic order that prevailed for the past 80 years was not collapsing just yet despite Donald Trump's inward-looking approach.

The Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank were dominated by trade talks, which also brought some de-escalatory statements from Washington about its relations with China.

But some deeper questions hovered over central bankers and finance ministers after Trump's attacks on international institutions and the Federal Reserve: can we still count on the US dollar as the world's safe haven and on the two lenders that have supported the international economic system since the end of World War Two?

Conversations with dozens of policymakers from all over the world revealed generalized relief at Trump’s scaling back his threats to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, the guardian of the dollar’s international status whom he had previously described as a "major loser".

And many also saw a silver lining in US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s call to reshape the IMF and World Bank according to Trump's priorities because it implied that the United States was not about to pull out of the two lenders that it helped create at the Bretton Woods conference of 1944.

"This week was one of cautious relief," Austria's central bank governor Robert Holzmann said. "There was a turn (in the US administration's stance) but I fret this may not be the last. I keep my reservations."

A politicization of the Fed and, to a lesser extent, the hollowing out of the IMF and World Bank are almost too much to fathom for most officials.

Deprived of a lender of last resort, some $25 trillion of bonds and loans issued abroad would be called into question.

NO ALTERNATIVE

At the heart of policymakers' concerns is that there is no ready alternative to the United States as the world's financial hegemon - a situation that economists know as the Kindleberger Trap after renowned historian Charles Kindleberger.

To be sure, the euro, a distant-second reserve currency, is gaining popularity in light of the European Union's newly found status as an island of relative stability.

But policymakers who spoke to Reuters were adamant that the European single currency was not ready yet to dethrone the dollar and could at best hope to add a little to its 20% share of the world's reserves.

Of the 20 countries that share the euro only Germany has the credit rating and the size that investors demand from a safe haven.

Some other members are highly indebted and prone to bouts of political and financial turmoil - most recently in France last year - which raise lingering questions about the bloc's long-term viability.

And the euro zone's geographical proximity to Russia - particularly the three Baltic countries that were once part of the Soviet Union - cast an even more sinister shadow.

With Japan now too small and China's heavily managed currency in an even worse position, this left no alternative to the dollar system underpinned by the Fed and the two Bretton Woods institutions.

In fact, the IMF and the World Bank could scarcely survive if their largest shareholder, the United States, pulled out, officials said.

"The US is absolutely crucial for multilateral institutions," Polish Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski told Reuters. "We're happy they remain."

Still, few expected to go back to the old status quo and thorny issues were likely to await, such as widespread dependence on US firms for a number of key services from credit cards to satellites.

But some observers argued that the market turmoil of the past few weeks, which saw US bonds, shares and the currency sell off sharply, might have been a shot in the arm as it forced a change of tack by the administration.

"When President Trump talked about firing Jay Powell, the fact that markets reacted so vigorously to that ended up being a disciplining reality just reminding the administration that, if you cross that line, it could have some very severe implications," said Nathan Sheets, global chief economist at Citi.