South Korea's Defence Minister To Visit Saudi Arabia For Arms Trade Show, Ministerial Talks

(MENAFN- IANS) Seoul, Feb 5 (IANS) South Korea's Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back will visit Saudi Arabia this week to attend a major defence exhibition and hold meetings with his counterparts from Riyadh, the ministry said on Thursday, as South Korea seeks to boost arms exports.

As part of his five-day trip that begins Friday, Ahn will attend the biennial World Defence Show in Riyadh, where some 40 South Korean defence firms will showcase their arms products, according to the ministry.

He will also hold talks with Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman Al Saud and Minister of the National Guard Abdullah bin Bandar Al Saud, it added.

Ahn is expected to discuss ways to deepen bilateral arms cooperation and promote South Korean arms products as Saudi Arabia seeks to foster its own defence industry and modernise the military, reports Yonhap news agency.

He will be accompanied by Gen. Son Sug-rag, Air Force chief of staff, who will also attend the trade show and hold talks with his Saudi Arabian and British counterparts on the margins of the event.

Ahn's upcoming trip comes five months after he visited the Middle Eastern country in September to discuss bilateral defence and arms industry cooperation.

South Korea seeks to become the world's fourth-largest arms exporter by 2030 to account for 6 per cent of the global market.

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