Saudi’s World Defense Show reveals ‘overwhelming’ interest as multinationals and SMEs snap up 70% of exhibition space
Riyadh, 2ndJune 2021 – – Saudi Arabia’s World Defense Show, held under the Patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, has urged exhibitors to book now as 70% of exhibition space has been allocated to leading global manufacturers, multinationals and SMEs across the defense industry.
Organizers have received “overwhelming” interest from hundreds of global, local and regional companies resulting in confirmed or reserved applications covering almost three quarters of the available exhibition space at the inaugural show in Riyadh from 6-9 March 2022.
Major global players including defense giants Lockheed Martin, Embraer, General Dynamics and Rolls-Royce are among those to have booked space. They will be joined by defense and security government bodies and Saudi entities including Saudi Arabian Military Industries and Military Industries Corporation as well as several local industry players.
Significant interest has been recorded from the Far East, which considers Saudi Arabia – located at the crossroads of three continents – to be a critical market given its welcoming investment environment, ease of doing business and government support to foreign investments.
Confirmed participants from this region include NORINCO and the Korea Defense Industry Association.
Shaun Ormrod, Chief Executive Officer of World Defense Show, commented: “The overwhelming interest from local and global defense reflects World Defense Show’s unique proposition – creating an unmatched meeting environment for industry leaders in the heart of Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s leading defense industry markets, to discuss the future of interoperable defense.
“We are greatly looking forward to introducing a new global platform showcasing integrated defense capabilities on the international defense show circuit.”
The announcement came after the World Defense Show operations team officially started Phase 2 of construction on the 800,000 sqm venue site– featuring the world’s first purpose-built military event demo runway.
More than one million tons of earth have already been processed in preparation for the construction of the flagship event’s exhibition halls, access roads and car parking areas.
According to the organizers, the first of two halls are on track for completion by October this year. By December 2021, the second hall will be completed along with a runway, static display area, land demonstration track and courtyard. The site will also feature dozens of hospitality suites playing host to high-level meetings between suppliers and buyers.
Under the Patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, World Defense Show is Saudi Arabia’s flagship defense event founded by GAMI, focusing on military interoperability across air, land, sea, security and satellite defense systems.
The biennial event will enable the industry to keep pace with developments across defense and technology. The speed at which these developments take place compels the defense industry to cooperate across borders and domain expertise to generate opportunities throughout the defense value chain.
By connecting key defense contacts, primes, SMEs, and buyers, World Defense Show has laid the foundations to advance the defense industry and address the challenges presented by ever-deeper defense systems integration.
