Express & Star

Saudis signal intent over crucial Typhoon jets order

Saudi Arabia has given 'clear intent' that it plans to press ahead with a multi-billion pound order for British Typhoon jets, the Defence Secretary has announced.

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Defence Secretary MP Gavin Williamson, and right, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

Gavin Williamson said the proposed order for 46 jets would increase security in the Middle East and boost aerospace jobs in the UK.

The two countries agreed to move forward with the deal at a meeting between South Staffordshire MP Mr Williamson and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at RAF Northolt in west London.

Mr Williamson said: "The Crown Prince’s visit has opened a new chapter in our two countries' historic relationship.

"The clear intent to finalise another order for Typhoon jets in the near future is a vital step in increasing security in the Middle-East and boosting British industry and jobs in our unrivalled aerospace sector.”

Should the order progress it will come as a timely boost for BAE Systems in Lancashire, where the Typhoon is built.

The firm, which has a base in the West Midlands, recently announced 1,400 job losses across its military air business, with production expected to drop to 11 jets a year, down from 20.

The company delivered the last of 72 plane order to Saudi Arabia in 2017, and the aircraft is being used by the Saudi-led coalition fighting rebels in Yemen.

Last month the firm announced that operating profit was down from £1.74bn in 2016 to £1.48bn last year.

Saudi ministers have urged the UK to turn to the Middle-East for new trade and investment opportunities after Brexit.

Kalid A al-Falih, the Saudi energy minister, told a business conference in London that he two countries had set out a broad ambition to strike nearly $100m of commercial deals over the next decade.

"I would like to think that Saudis can be the pivotal link to a new partnership sphere for the UK that is perhaps not positioned in the past, as is the Commonwealth, but forward-looking, looking at the demographics of the Middle East, Africa, and Islamic world to which Saudi Arabia is central," he said.

The UK should regard the kingdom as the dominant force in the Gulf and 'your gateway to Africa, one of the next frontiers', he said.

Last Thursday UK and Saudi enterprises signed more than 18 economic agreements worth more than £1.5bn, covering education, pharmaceuticals and banking.

The two countries have set a £65bn trade and investment target for the coming years, broadening a trading relationship built on defence and security.

The Crown Prince's visit has seen him meet with the Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge, Prime Minister Theresa May, Chancellor Philip Hammond and the Archbishop of Canterbury, among other dignitaries.

Saudi Arabia has made it clear that it wants British input into its Vision 2030 modernisation programme in order to make it a success.